Titian

Titian's greatest rival was Michelangelo. He was always drawing direct references from Michelangelo's work into his own. But I won't ignore Raphael, who was his other rival. Even though references were less distinct, we can still see where Titian had been influenced by Raphael, especially after Raphael's death.
The Resurrection of Christ, represented in the main panel of the Brescia altarpiece, alludes to Raphael's fresco the Liberation of Saint Peter. "The dawn sky in the altarpiece, the way in which the soldier falls back as he witnesses the Resurrection, and the silhouette of his companion's profile against the orange light of the sky recall the nocturnal lighting and similar motifs in Raphael's fresco"( Goffen 293).

Here are the images.

Resurrection of Christ by Titian

Liberation of St. Peter by Raphael

I personally do not see the reference. It is said to be in the lighting... but the heavenly glow seems nonexistent in Titian's painting. I suppose both figures have their arms extended as if to embrace. I do however see a connection between the panel of St. Sebastian and Michelangelo's Dying Slave sculpture.

Dying Slave by Michelangelo

St. Sebastian by Raphael in lower right.

Battle of Anghiari - My painting

After thorough  inspiration from the cartoon of the Battle of Anghiari. I took it upon myself to paint of scene from the familiar battle of Custers Last Stand or the Battle of the Little Bighorn. You can see the reference I made in the central theme of the painting where the one horse rears over the fallen horse in a circular composition. I contemplated entwining the horses but chose not to complicate that part of the scene. Instead, I made of heap of figures and mass of fighting Native Americans. The painting is oil on canvas and 30"x48". You can also see some other influences from paintings that I implemented into the scene.

Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo

Custers Last Stand  by James Corwin

Battle of the Ticino by Unknown

Horse Study by Leonardo

Raphael references Leonardo

I found something interesting while viewing the images in my reading. This reference is not mentioned in my reading but I have taken it upon myself to share this new discovery... I am sure it has already been discovered but I was still excited to find something the other did not mention.

The painting Madonna of Foligno by Raphael depicts a man pointing to the heavens and holding a cross. When I saw this man I instantly thought of Leonardo's St. John the Baptist. Raphael is noted for gathering inspiration from Leonardo and referencing him frequently in his paintings. Take a look at the 2 images and let me know what you think!

Madonna of Foligno by Raphael

St. John the Baptist by Leonardo

Comments on Smyth

Following after my previous post on Mannerism and its style, I wanted to continue on the topic with this reading.
Mannerism really found a decline in art as it tried to counter the High Renaissance, a rebellion (pg 27). Art became very stylized and with overt forms and construction. Although experimental, the painting remained generalized and intentional (not free) (27). Where did this desire to change the style originate from? The idea of painting changed. Painting became more of what it is today, a creative process that can be learned and practiced by anyone and studied in schools.... Rather than using painting as a way to express biblical text and lifestyle. The previous idea of painting was being destroyed. People were beginning to pick up a brush, trying to imitate Michelangelo and failing. With the freedom to paint, came the freedom to express that which was held in the imagination instead of focusing on nature. Mannerism really became the vehicle that brought painting from a highly respected profession to more of a hobby.

Here is my previous post from Freedberg's article.

I had difficulty grasping what Manniera in Art truly is. I found bits and pieces that describe the style in painting. For example “Forms are illumined by cool light, transmitted through air so thin it seems unbreathable.” The atmosphere is both transparent and clear. The figures and their behavior are aetheticized. Their form is deliberate and intentional, but graceful and civilized (pg 286). I was also intrigued by the commentary of plasticity and sculptural aspects of the painting. Raphael began to incorporate more sculpture-like figures into his later paintings, similar to those of Michelangelo. The mannerists would use this sculpturesque style as a guide to stylization in their paintings (pg 287).

Comments on Chapter 7

I had difficulty grasping what Manniera in Art truly is. I found bits and pieces that describe the style in painting. For example “Forms are illumined by cool light, transmitted through air so thin it seems unbreathable.” The atmosphere is both transparent and clear. The figures and their behavior are aetheticized. Their form is deliberate and intentional, but graceful and civilized (pg 286). I was also intrigued by the commentary of plasticity and sculptural aspects of the painting. Raphael began to incorporate more sculpture-like figures into his later paintings, similar to those of Michelangelo. The mannerists would use this sculpturesque style as a guide to stylization in their paintings (pg 287).

Michelangelo in Disguise

Some of you may have already known this, but it came as a surprise to me as I was reading Renaissance Rivals. Raphael painted the portrait of Michelangelo into the School of Athens. "He is Michelangelo in Michelangelesque guise, represented as a melancholy genius, an apt description of the man employing an imagery familiar to contemporaries, intellectually and psychologically isolated though surrounded by a society of great men" (Goffen pg122). It is considered that Raphael even referenced the engraving Melencholio by Albrecht Durer and Michelangelo's prophet Jeremiah.

Raphael's School of Athens portrait of Michelangelo

 Albrecht Durer Melencholia

The portrait can be seen as acknowledgement of Michelangelo's greatness, or his failure to complete projects such as the Battle of Cascina and the Saint Matthew

Ideas up for Interpretation - Steinberg on the Last Judgment

It fascinates me all the thought that is put into composing the Last Judgment. In such a massive and extraordinary painting, it makes sense that diagonals and line work need to be considered if Christ is to be the focus without distraction – “Two diagonals converging in Christ… Without this symmetrical order, it would have been impossible to give emphasis to the chief figure” (Steinberg pg1). It is difficult to decide whether Christ is sitting, or rising, standing, or springing into action. But all interpretations of his gestures carry equal value and weight, in my opinion.

However, at times (after reading further) I was a bit skeptical of some of the ideas mentioned towards the creation of the Last Judgment. Did Michelangelo really consider all those things before and while painting the frescoes? At least Steinberg continues to question Michelangelo’s intentions and leaves some of the ideas for interpretation. For example in #15, Steinberg says, “Nor can one resist the impression that Christ’s hands together sustain the motion of the entire system. Like those of a conductor,  raising a crescendo on his right side while muting the other, the lifted hand causing that universal updraft by which the resurrected are drawn” (pg 12). I can see the visual, and I am glad the word impression was used, but Michelangelo probably did not intend for that visual. Too him, it may have just been a dynamic pose. Again, in #8, discussing the ‘fictional demons for dramatic effect’ in hell and poetic sources, “one cannot be certain about his intention but it seems to me that he [Michelangelo] introduced his Underworld between quotation marks, as it were” (pg 6). In general, most of the interpretations and meanings/ideas are skeptical, and I finish feeling unconvinced.

I don’t understand what Steinberg means when he uses the word “sink” to describe the position of the figures. Perhaps someone can comment and explain. Or do I just need to take it literally?

Titian's Venus of Urbino - Goffen

                Titian is among the first artists to be considered an international artist during his time. His work extended throughout Europe and influential works contributed to his success. The Venus of Urbino is in particular, significant. Titian painted many nude women, a contrast to the women (mostly clothed Madonna’s) and nude men that his contemporaries painted.  The Venus has often been considered pornographic and misogynistic. I believe it is neither.

She is placed into a bedroom, a setting not typical used during this time, propped up by pillows on a bed. The pose is striking because of her stare and revealed breasts. Her empowering stare beholds the viewer’s eye, perhaps in a sensual sense (pg 9; 13). However, her stare and reclining and exposed pose does not impose a sense of misogyny or pornography. It is a celebration of the female form. Michelangelo explored the male form countless because of his attachment to its beauty. His male forms appear throughout his paintings as bystanders but none of which are sexual or explicit.  Raphael and Leonardo expressed the feminine form through their portraits and the Madonna. I believe Titian was searching for his niche – to unveil the beauty of the female form and reveal it in a non-religious context.

Prostitution was practiced during this time and it is considered the model is a prostitute, but if not, in what ways does this painting deliver a sexual nature? Goffen* does not explore this question much besides referring to Titian’s painted subjects to have independence and personality (pg11) and injected eroticism. I suppose the mystery remains as it can only solved by the eye of the beholder. It is difficult to understand Titian’s true intentions behind this remarkable painting.

*I do like Goffen very much as an author and she suggests information without a bias.

Raphael copies Leonardo and Michelangelo

INTERESTING FACT:

“Raphael’s portrait of the pope  was so alive and true that it made one afraid to see it as though  it were in fact the living man” (Goffen 194). Raphael painted the portrait of Pope Julius II during the pope’s final days of life. It was so life-like and captured the self-awareness of ending life. To the viewers it had become something tragic as they realize the ‘frailty of life and human enterprise’.

Raphael’s Madonna and Child with Saints references much of Leonardo’s geometry  in composition as pyramidal and “unified by glance and gesture.” – Specifically in Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi. Raphael also studied Michelangelo mostly in sketches. In Florence, he made three sketches of Michelangelo’s David as well as the Taddei Tondo, the Cascina Cartoon and the unfinished Saint Matthew. The drawings do not copy the artwork exactly but rather present “a variation on Michelangelo’s invention” (Goffen 196). The Taddei Tondo can specifically be referenced in Raphael’s Madonna paintings such as the Bridgewater Madonna.

An excerpt for Renaissance Rivals by Rona Goffen

“When Raphael took from Leonardo, he took wholesale, adopting Leonardo’s compositional formulas and his conception of the Mother and Child. Raphael so thoroughly integrated Leonardo’s aesthetics that imitation became absorption. When Raphael appropriated ideas from Michelangelo, however, his borrowings became more selective: It was not the whole but particular parts that Raphael incorporated into his compositions. From Leonardo, he had taken whole texts; from Michelangelo, he took phrases” (Goffen 205).

An Introduction to Raphael

Raphael is set apart from his rivals. He competes with “graceful admiration for his rivals" and does not carry anxiety from their influence. Perhaps this is due to the very different lifestyle Raphael lived compared to Michelangelo and Leonardo. Raphael grew up in a loving household that nurtured his artistic interests. His father Giovanni Santi was a painter and was Raphael’s first instructor. Raphael excelled very quickly and learned about Michelangelo and Perugino through his father’s book, Disputation. Rivalry between Raphael and Michelangelo was avoidable; however, it was Michelangelo who carried the resentment for jealousy towards Raphael’s upbringing. “The disparity between them was perhaps even greater than that between Michelangelo and Leonardo” (Goffen 173).

Raphael’s rivalry became more evident between him and Perugino by “imitating Perugino so closely” (Goffen 173). Ironically, Raphael and Perugino were both given the Sposalizio commission (Betrothal of the Virgin). Raphael was not meant to make a copy of Perugino’s work, but asked by their patrons to complete the same subject to fit alongside Perugino’s, finished with a signature. Raphael’s signatures are very rare and yet more are those with dates. “Only eight works are both signed and dated, beginning with the Sposalizio in 1504. The majority of these signatures are inconspicuously placed somewhere within the painting. “The Sposalizio signature similarly signifies professional self-awareness and the recognition – shared by contemporaries – that the work signaled a new chapter in his life, a seminal work for Raphael” (Goffen 178).

Raphael's Sposalizio

Raphael's signature in Fornarina

Signoria Battles

 “Painting their battles, Leonardo and Michelangelo would battle each other” (Goffen  150). It is evident through my early reading on Leonardo that he did not like Michelangelo much at all and wrote despising letters against him and his artwork. It wasn't until 1504 that “the paintings of Leonardo and Michelangelo were intended to be seen together, and judged together” (Goffen 150) in the Signoria (Florence) commission of the battles. Leonardo began the work of the Battle of Anghiari, while Michelangelo received the commission a year later to work on the Battle of Cascina. Michelangelo’s early draft of the Battling Horseman and Soldiers seems influenced from Leonardo’s Anghiari. It incorporates horses and soldiers in tangled, dynamic movement. “Leonardo interpreted the theme in a completely characteristic way, imposing unity and order on a scene of mayhem” (Goffen 152). In completion it is considered that Leonardo’s Battle “would have been a far more decorative work than Michelangelo’s, and far more painterly (152). Michelangelo’s Bathers is very sculptural and un-unified , each character tending to its own need.

The Battle of Anghiari is a lead up to the Florentine Victory by the capture of the Milanese flag. Michelangelo’s Bathers stages an event that occurred the day before the battle. I consider Leonardo’s figures to be greatly expressing the emotions attached to the episode depicted, whereas Michelangelo seems to focus again on the male nude and it lacks the emotive qualities. “The figures themselves were more important to Michelangelo than the narrative they were meant to enact” (154).

Michelangelo was pleased to hear Leonardo had abandoned the project for whatever reason, but it wasn’t much later that Michelangelo left to work on a series of Tondo’s that reflect his confrontations with Leonard, including the the Taddei, Pitti and Doni Tondos.

Michelangelo's Battling Horseman and Soldiers

Renaissance Rivals - Michelangelo's David

Michelangelo and david
 Agostino di Duccio “had contracted with the Operai of the cathedral Office of Works in Florence to produce a giant representing a prophet, for a cathedral buttress” (Goffen 119). This giant was to be sectioned into four pieces.  However the mention of being carved from one block sparked interests in Agostino. This giant or prophet later came to represent David. Leonardo was considered for this commission before it was given to Michelangelo.

Michelangelo locked himself away until the sculpture was finished. The unveiling brought much fame to Michelangelo and such remarks as ‘the greatest artist in Italy.’  Instead of being used as a buttress, it was placed in the Palazzo della Signoria.

As this is a commentary on the rivals I will again mention Leonardo. It is thought Michelangelo referenced Leonardo’s studies on human expression that reflect the spiritual and intellectual life when carving the face of David. In size and technicality it surpassed Leonardo’s terracotta Horse.

During its placement, vandals threw rocks at the statue. I can’t begin to understand why someone would do this and an answer wasn’t given in my reading.

Leonardo's sketch of Michelangelo's David... his attempt at a more dynamic pose. Do you think it is better?

Artistic Theory in Italy - Leonardo

Leonardo is quite different than Michelangelo. Leonardo is very scientific minded, whereas Michelangelo focusing on the spiritual and divine. Leonardo refers to the creation of art as scientific and he focuses on nature for inspiration and studies on painting. He pioneered systematic ways of producing the aerial perspective and effects of landscapes. Leonardo explains more in depth that an artist should not simply copy nature but instead capture and express in painting the ‘mind’ of nature… What is the object in nature expressing? – “the qualities of forms which nature produces.”

Artistic Theory in Italy - Michelangelo

The personal writings of Michelangelo express his feelings and views on art and its spiritual connections to the divine and the audience. Michelangelo struggled between his passions and admiration towards the male figure and his desire for God and reaching salvation. He viewed his lustful appeals of the figure as separation from God. To unify the two Michelangelo chose to convey the male form as a divine beauty. Rather than focusing on grace and beauty, he conveyed the idea and revealed a spiritual state in his figures. In effect, he raises the mind to contemplate divine beauty rather than physical beauty. Like Leonardo, Michelangelo studied life scientifically and anatomy. He used nature to conform to this ideal form of the human figure.

Renaissance Rivals - Michelangelo

Michelangelo is predominantly one of the most celebrated of the artists during the Renaissance. A self-created artist, he remained unsurpassed in his extraordinary achievements (Goffen 69).  Michelangelo apprenticed under Ghirlandaio. Ghirlandaio had Michelangelo copy works by other artists. Brilliantly Michelangelo would infuse his own style into the art piece and produce a work better than the original. Regarding Schongauer’s Temptation of Saint Anthony, “Michelangelo did not intend only to copy the engraving; he meant to transform it. Redoing Schongauer, he would outdo him” (Goffen 73). Michelangelo first exhibited his talents to the public through his Saint Anthony. “So Michelangelo launched his career with a copy that surpassed its original and with drawings that surpassed his (unacknowledged) master [Ghirlandaio]” (Goffen 74).

Following the copies, Michelangelo would learn the art of forgery by copying old master’s work and aging them in smoke and soils. These counterfeits were unrecognizable when compared to the original. Michelangelo did not intend to sell these frauds, but they did award him an “invitation to study in the sculpture garden of Lorenzo de’ Medici, il Magnifico” (Goffen 74). In the garden Michelangelo carved his very first sculpture during a competition against Torrigiani. Without any previous training, Michelangelo picked up the carving tools and sculpted the Head of a Faun. “Lorenzo was stupefied (…) Michelangelo was given a room in the Medici palace and dined with the family and their distinguished guests” (Goffen 75). Surrounded by antiquity and nature, Michelangelo became inspired and progressed to creating his own ancient work such as the significant Battle of the Centaurs and Lapiths.

Temptation of Saint Anthony by Martin Schongauer

Engraving

The Torment of Saint Anthony by Michelangelo

Colored pencil on wood panel

Battle of the Centaurs by Michelangelo

Renaissance and Patronage

A Cultural Introduction to Renaissance Rome is chalked full of information. It is difficult to synthesize but particular moments during my reading captured my interest. I always enjoy learning about the ways the city of Rome incorporated many artisans during its construction specifically during the Renaissance. “The urgent image of rebirth that underpins the very idea of the Renaissance (not to mention the term itself) was forged, not in Florence, but in Rome –and when that rebirth was conceived, its audacity was staggering. In the minds of those brave reconstructionists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, just as God’s sovereign plan for human salvation had been played out over the Roman cityscape…” (pg 4). The city and its papacy called upon artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael to complete many architectural designs. Rome becomes reborn with the idea of returning to Edenic lushness and magical power – “Rome’s destiny in the course of history” (pg 11). Rome serves as the birth place of the Renaissance because it fostered the intellectuals and incorporated them into the resurrection of a powerful city – it provided the means for ideas to emerge and be shared upon a common property.

Investigating this further with the Patronage and Popes: Saints or Sinners? The pope is the advocate and patron for the arts, initiatinf the building projects. The papacy was international which contributed to the worldly intellect however this ran into competitions from competing Italian and European city-states, and “the papacy became and ever less important player on the European Stage” (pg 13) and ultimately corrupt. In thinking of the pope’s patronage and their treatment of the Renaissance, it is an unbelievable accomplishment; however in action, they seem very far from saint-like and were often overthrown by the people.

Leonardo's Flights of the Mind

I chose to begin my reading at the beginning to gain a better understand of Leonardo’s family and early childhood years.  I read pages 17-47. Initially, I was confused by the name ‘Da Vinci.’ This is their family name but they are also of Vinci, Italy. Is Piero specifically affiliated by name with the town of Vinci? Why do they carry a last name that translates to “of Vinci” (Da Vinci) and no one else in the town does?

Leonardo is an illegitimate child, but I was surprised that Piero left nothing in his will for Leonardo. “It may be well true that Piero was an absent, busy and not very caring father. It is certainly true that he left nothing to Leonardo in his will” (pg 25). Leonardo received the entire estate of his Uncle. I am sure though Piero had a love affair and attraction with Caterina rather than nonconsensual sex. Leonardo had written “The man who has intercourse aggressively and uneasily will produce children who are irritable and untrustworthy: but if the intercourse is done with great love and desire on both sides, then the child will be of great intellect, and witty, lively and lovable. The idea is traditional” (pg 27). It still seems strange Piero would leave nothing for Leonardo after his connection with Caterina.

The chapters following dive deep in the issue of the Kite. I was wondering why such elaboration on the memory of the kite bird entering Leonardo’s mouth as a baby (starting on page 30). It was revealed later as a symbol of his destiny. The kite fueled his interest in human flight and anatomy. The bird in a sense becomes cross-referenced into his later paintings and works.

Another interest I found was on pages 41-42. Leonardo became involved in wickerwork and he designed his own logo. The fascination of weaving designs was implemented in the dress of Mona Lisa and Lady with an Ermine. Also the braids of hair incorporate these design elements.

Humanism in the modern setting.

The practice of humanism and social rhetoric has paved way for modern academia - A presupposition that humanism be the framework for a broader study of knowledge today. Initially, the role of studia humanitatis is evident as a vernacular system to educate the speaker in ‘polished expression.’ The literate and intellectual humanist may establish aristocracy and political reputation through compelling oratory. However, as an intensive study through literature, it became a concentration on life and the knowledge of man, regarding the humanities as emotional and innate manifestations of the human soul.

Today’s education ideology reflects the humanistic values through a wide study of language (literature, culture and oratory), art, music, history and philosophy. Humanism is enduring, its roots in the renaissance.  Studia humanitatis provided a structure from which education that focused on multiple facets of the human nature and intelligence, flourished.  Additionally, rhetoric proves resourceful in political bodies and influencing audiences.

James Corwin