1.
1410s in art
–
The decade of the 1410s in art involved some significant events. Across Europe, frescoes and tapestries are produced, C.1410, Starting point of the most celebrated decade in Hubert van Eycks activity. C.1410, John, Duke of Berry, commissions the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry,1416, Nanni di Banco, guild member of the Masters of Stone and Wood, installs his Four Crowned Martyr Saints at the Orsanmichele guild hall in Florence. 1418, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti submit plans for the dome of Florence Cathedral,1419, Brunelleschi designs the loggia of the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence. 1419, The marble Fonte Gaia in the Piazza del Campo of Siena is sculpted by Jacopo della Quercia and his figures of Rhea Silvia and Acca Larentia are the first two female nudes to stand in a public place since Antiquity. C.1410, Madonna of Zlatá Koruna painted, C.1410, Robert Campin paints The Entombment. 1410, Jan van Eyck paints Nativity, C.1410, Andrei Rublev paints his Christ the Redeemer icon. C. 1410-1420, Andrei Rublev paints his Trinity icon for the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius,1412, A painting of Democritus is made, it will be exhibited four centuries later, at the Northwestern Fair in Chicago on October 27,1863. C.1412, The Master of Boucicaut paints a Portrait of Charles VI of France,1413, In Florence, Lorenzo paints his masterpiece of the large Coronation for the high altar of his own Church of the Convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, in Florence. 1413, Taddeo di Bartolo paints the vestibule of the chapel in Siena,1414, Lorenzo Monaco paints Coronation of the Virgin at the Church of the Convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, in Florence. 1414 or 1418, Jan van Eyck paints Portrait of a Moorish King or Prince,1418, Matteo da Siena paints The Slaughter of the Innocents. 1418, In Lublin, the Gothic and Renaissance Chapel of the Holy Trinity is covered with Russo-Byzantine frescoes,1418, Giacomo Jaquerio paints frescoes in the chateau of Pinerolo. 1411-1413, Donatello completes St. Mark, Or San Michele, C. 1410-1414, Nanni di Banco, Four Saints, at Or San Michele, Florence. 1415-1417, Donatello creates St. George Tabernacle, Museo Nazionale del Bargello,1419, Jacopino da Tradate executes the statue of Pope Martin V for the Duomo of Milan. 1419, Jacopo della Quercia finishes the Fonte Gaia fountain in Piazza del Campo, at Siena
2.
1420s in art
–
The decade of the 1420s in art involved some significant events. It is now kept at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,1420, Giovanni di Paolo paints a tiny gold-ground triptych 1422, Masaccio - San Giovenale Triptych 1423, Gentile da Fabriano - Adoration of the Magi c. 1424, Masaccio - Virgin and Child with St. Museo dellOpera del Duomo, Florence 1425, Donatello - The Feast of Herod, baptismal font, Siena Cathedral 1424, Masolino sculpts his Pietà1423, Ghibertis sculpture of St. S
3.
1430s in art
–
The decade of the 1430s in art involved some significant events. 1430, Considered end of Medieval art art period,1430, First use of optical methods in the creation of art. 1430s, The engraver known as the Master of the Playing Cards becomes active in south-western Germany,1435, Leon Battista Alberti writes Della Pittura. 1438-1440, Donatello completes his series of sculptures for the Cathedral of Prato
4.
1420s in architecture
–
1417–1420 – Ulugh Beg Madrasah in Samarkand is built. 1419–1427 – Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi,1420 Khan Jaqmaq, Damascus, is completed. Forbidden City of Beijing, China, is completed, temple of Heaven in Beijing is completed. 1421 – Traditional foundation date of Larabanga Mosque in northern Ghana,1424 – Start of final stage of construction of Doges Palace, Venice. 1425 – Rebuilding of Sherborne Abbey choir, England, begins, 1428–1430 – Ca dOro, Venice, built by Giovanni and his son Bartolomeo Bon for the Contarini family of doges. 1427 – Harmondsworth Great Barn in England is completed,1428 – Church of SantAgostino, Amatrice, Kingdom of Naples, is built. 1429 – Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand is completed, C.1429 – Guiniforte Solari, Milanese engineer, architect and sculptor
5.
15th century in literature
–
This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in the 15th century. See also, 15th century in poetry, 14th century in literature, 16th century in literature,1403 – A guild of stationers is founded in the City of London. As the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, it continues to be a Livery Company in the 21st century, 1403–08 – The Yongle Encyclopedia is written in China. 1408–11 – An Leabhar Breac is probably compiled by Murchadh Ó Cuindlis at Duniry in Ireland, C.1410 – John, Duke of Berry, commissions the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, illustrated by the Limbourg brothers between c.1412 and 1416. 1424 – The first French royal library is transferred by the English regent of France, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford,1425 – At about this date the first Guildhall Library is established in the City of London under the will of Richard Whittington. 1434 – Japanese Noh actor and playwright Zeami Motokiyo is exiled to Sado Island by the Shogun,1443 – King Sejong the Great establishes Hangul as the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is first described in the Hunminjeongeum published on 9 October 14461444,15 June – Cosimo de Medici founds the Laurentian Library in Florence,1448 – Pope Nicholas V founds the Vatican Library in Rome. 1450 – Johannes Gutenberg has set up his movable type printing press as an operation in Mainz by this date. 14511 August – A manuscript of Dantes Divine Comedy is sold in London,1452 – Completion of the Malatestiana Library in Cesena, the first European public library, in the sense of belonging to the commune and open to all citizens. 1453 – Pageant of Coriolan staged in the piazza of Milan Cathedral,145523 February – Johannes Gutenberg completes printing of the Gutenberg Bible in Mainz, the first major book printed with movable type in the West, using a textualis blackletter typeface. 5 June – French poet François Villon is implicated in a murder, the Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi in Persia is known to be in existence. 1460 – From about this date, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, begins to form the Bibliotheca Corviniana,1462,8 November – First known sentence written in the Albanian language, a Formula e pagëzimit by Archbishop Pal Engjëlli. Soon after this he prints the first known Biblia pauperum,1463,5 January – François Villon is reprieved from hanging in Paris but never heard of again. 146831 May – The Byzantine scholar Cardinal Basilios Bessarion donates his library to the Republic of Venice, the printers Johann and Wendelin of Speyer settle in Venice, their first book published here, Ciceros Epistolae ad familiares, appears in 1469. 1470 Johann Heynlin prints the first book in Paris, the Epistolae Gasparini of Gasparinus de Bergamo, nicolas Jensons edition of Eusebius, published in Venice, is the first book to use a roman type based on the principles of typography rather than manuscript. 1473 First book printed in Hungary, Chronica Hungarorum, the Buda Chronicle, First known printing in Poland, Almanach cracoviense ad annum 1474, a wall calendar. 1474 – First book printed in Spain, Obres e trobes en lahors de la Verge María, recuyell of the Historyes of Troye is the first book to be printed in English, by William Caxton in Bruges. Rashis commentary on the Torah is the first dated book to be printed in Hebrew,147630 January – Constantine Lascariss Erotemata is the first book to be printed entirely in Greek
6.
Masaccio
–
Masaccio, born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. Masaccio died at twenty-six and little is known about the circumstances of his death. The name Masaccio is a version of Maso, meaning clumsy or messy Tom. The name may have created to distinguish him from his principal collaborator, also called Maso. Despite his brief career, he had a influence on other artists. He was one of the first to use linear perspective in his painting, employing techniques such as vanishing point in art for the first time, Masaccio was born to Giovanni di Simone Cassai and Jacopa di Martinozzo in Castel San Giovanni di Altura, now San Giovanni Valdarno. His father was a notary and his mother the daughter of an innkeeper of Barberino di Mugello and his family name, Cassai, comes from the trade of his paternal grandfather Simone and granduncle Lorenzo, who were carpenters/cabinet makers. Masaccios father died in 1406, when he was five, later that same year a brother was born. He also was to become a painter, with the nickname of lo Scheggia meaning the splinter, there is no evidence for Masaccios artistic education, however Renaissance painters traditionally began an apprenticeship with an established master around the age of 12. Johannis Simonis pictor populi S. Nicholae de Florentia, the first works attributed to Masaccio are the San Giovenale Triptych, now in the Museum of Cascia di Reggello near Florence, and the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne at the Uffizi. The San Giovenale altarpiece was discovered in 1961 in the church of San Giovenale at Cascia di Reggello and it depicts the Virgin and Child with angels in the central panel, Sts. Bartholomew and Blaise on the panel, and Sts. Juvenal and Anthony Abbot in the right panel, the painting has lost much of its original framing, and its surface is badly abraded. The second work was perhaps Masaccios first collaboration with the older and already-renowned artist, Masolino is believed to have painted the figure of St. Anne and the angels that hold the cloth of honor behind her, while Masaccio painted the more important Virgin and Child on their throne. Masolinos figures are delicate, graceful and somewhat flat, while Masaccios are solid, in Florence, Masaccio could study the works of Giotto and become friends with Brunelleschi and Donatello. It was destroyed when the cloister was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century. With the two artists probably working simultaneously, the painting began around 1425, but for reasons the chapel was left unfinished. As a whole the frescoes represent human sin and its redemption through the actions of Peter, the style of Masaccios scenes shows the influence of Giotto especially
7.
Altarpiece
–
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing behind the altar of a Christian church. Altarpieces were one of the most important products of Christian art especially from the late Middle Ages to the era of the Counter-Reformation. Large number of altarpieces are now removed from their settings, and often their elaborate sculpted frameworks. Altarpieces seem to have begun to be used during the 11th century, the reasons and forces that led to the development of altarpieces are not generally agreed upon. The habit of placing decorated reliquaries of saints on or behind the altar, as well as the tradition of decorating the front of the altar with sculptures or textiles, an elaborate example of such an early altarpiece is the Pala dOro in Venice. The appearance and development of these first altarpieces marked an important turning point both in the history of Christian art and Christian religious practice, the autonomous image now assumed a legitimate position at the centre of Christian worship. Painted panel altars emerged in Italy during the 13th century, in the 13th century, it is not uncommon to find frescoed or mural altarpieces in Italy, mural paintings behind the altar function as visual complements for the liturgy. These altarpieces were influenced by Byzantine art, notably icons, which reached Western Europe in greater numbers following the conquest of Constantinople in 1204. During this time, altarpieces began to be decorated with an outer. Vigoroso da Sienas altarpiece from 1291 display such an altarpiece and this treatment of the altarpiece would eventually pave the way for the emergence, in the 14th century, of the polyptych. The sculpted elements in the emerging polyptychs often took inspiration from contemporary Gothic architecture, in Italy, they were still typically executed in wood and painted, while in northern Europe altarpieces were often made of stone. The early 14th century saw the emergence, in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the Baltic region, by hinging the outer panels to the central panel and painting them on both sides, the motif could be regulated by opening or closing the wings. The pictures could thus be changed depending on liturgical demands, the earliest often displayed sculptures on the inner panels, i. e. displayed when open, and paintings on the back of the wings, displayed when closed. With the advent of winged altarpieces, a shift in imagery also occurred, instead of being centred on a single holy figure, altarpieces began to portray more complex narratives linked to the Christian concept of salvation. As the Middle Ages progressed, altarpieces began to be commissioned more frequently, in Northern Europe, initially Lübeck and later Antwerp would develop into veritable export centres for the production of altarpieces, exporting to Scandinavia, Spain and northern France. By the 15th century, altarpieces were often commissioned not only by churches but also by individuals, families, guilds, the 15th century saw the birth of Early Netherlandish painting in the Low Countries, henceforth panel painting would dominate altarpiece production in the area. In Germany, sculpted wooden altarpieces were instead generally preferred, while in England alabaster was used to a large extent, in England, as well as in France, stone retables enjoyed general popularity. In Italy both stone retables and wooden polyptychs were common, with painted panels and often with complex framing in the form of architectural compositions
8.
Santa Maria del Carmine, Pisa
–
Santa Maria del Carmine is a church in Pisa, Italy. The church was built for the Carmelite order in 1324-1328. By 1425, it was decorated with a famed, now dispersed, only one table of the altar remains in Pisa in the National Museum of San Matteo. The church itself underwent many reconstructions across the centuries, the present simple façade was designed by Alessandro Gherardesca, in the 1830s. The interior has an organ by Andrea Ravani made in 1613, and an altar painting by Baccio Lomi, Aurelio Lomi, Santi di Tito, Alessandro Allori, Francesco Curradi. Madonna and Child Enthroned, now in National Gallery of London, Crucifixion, now in Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. St. Paul, now in Museo Nazionale di San Matteo of Pisa, St. Andrew, now in Getty Museum of Los Angeles. St. Augustine, now in the Staatliche Museen of Berlin, St. Jerome, now in the Staatliche Museen of Berlin. Two Carmelite Saints, now in the Staatliche Museen of Berlin Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist and Crucifixion of St Peter, stories of St. Julian and St. Nicholas, now in the Staatliche Museen of Berlin. Adoration of the Magi, now in the Staatliche Museen of Berlin
9.
Pisa
–
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its tower, the city of over 90,834 residents contains more than 20 other historic churches, several medieval palaces. Much of the architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics. The origin of the name, Pisa, is a mystery, while the origin of the city had remained unknown for centuries, the Pelasgi, the Greeks, the Etruscans, and the Ligurians had variously been proposed as founders of the city. Archaeological remains from the 5th century BC confirmed the existence of a city at the sea, trading with Greeks, the presence of an Etruscan necropolis, discovered during excavations in the Arena Garibaldi in 1991, confirmed its Etruscan origins. Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city, strabo referred Pisas origins to the mythical Nestor, king of Pylos, after the fall of Troy. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a center by the times described. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti, or Pelops, the maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the port along the western coast from Genoa to Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians, Gauls, in 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium, Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name in Colonia Iulia obsequens. It is supposed that Pisa was founded on the shore, however, due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 kilometres north of the Arnos, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 kilometres away from the coast, currently, it is located 9.7 kilometres from the coast. However it was a city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a complex was built in the city. During the later years of the Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the cities of Italy, probably thanks to the complexity of its river system. After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, politically it became part of the duchy of Lucca
10.
Bahram V
–
Bahram V was the fifteenth Sasanian King of Persia. Also called Bahram Gōr or Bahram Gūr, he was a son of Yazdegerd I, after his fathers assassination, Bahram V gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of Al-Mundhir I ibn al-Numan, the king of the Lakhmid dynasty. Bahram V began his reign with a persecution of the Christians. His chief mōbed Mihr-Shabūr ordered Christian tombs and gravesites exhumed, among those executed was James Intercisus, which led to a war with the Eastern Romans. In the year 421, the Romans sent their general Ardaburius with an extensive contingent into Armenia, Ardaburius defeated the Persian commander Narseh and proceeded to plunder the province of Arzanene and lay siege to Nisibis. Ardaburius abandoned the siege in the face of an army under Bahram. Peace was then concluded between the Persians and Romans with a return to status quo ante bellum, the situation in Armenia occupied Bahram immediately after the conclusion of peace with Rome. Armenia had been without a king since Bahrams brother Shapur had vacated the country in 418, Bahram now desired that a descendant of the royal line of kings, a scion of the Arshakunis, should be on the throne of Armenia. With this intention in mind, he selected an Arshakuni named Artaxias IV, a son of Vramshapuh, but the newly appointed king did not have a good character. The frustrated nobles petitioned Bahramgur to remove Artaxias IV and admit Armenia into the Persian Empire so that the province would be under the control of the Sassanian Empire. Despite his strong protests, however, Armenia was annexed by Bahram, during the later part of Bahram Vs reign, Persia was invaded from the northeast by Hephthalite hordes who ravaged northern Iran under the command of their leader. They crossed the Elburz into Khorasan and proceeded as far as the ancient town of Rey, unprepared, Bahram initially made an offer of peace and submission which was well received by the Khan of the Hephthalites. But crossing Tabaristan, Hyrcania and Nishapur by night, he took the Huns unawares and massacred them along with their Khan, the retreating Huns were pursued and slaughtered up to the Oxus. One of Bahrams generals followed the Huns deep into Hun territory and his portrait which survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara is considered to be an evidence of his victory over the Huns. Bahram V has left behind a rich and colorful legacy, with numerous legends and his fame has survived the downplay of Zoroastrianism and the anti-Iranian measures of the Umayyads and the Mongols, and many of the stories have been incorporated in contemporary Islamic lore. His legacy even survives outside Iran and he is the king who receives the Three Princes of Serendip in the tale that gave rise to the word Serendipity. He is believed to be the inspiration for the legend of Bahramgur prevalent in the Punjab and he is called Bahram Gur, Onager, on account of his love for hunting, and in particular, hunting onagers. The ruins of three of these towers are yet shown by the peasantry, as also the swamp in which Bahram sunk while pursuing his Gur, some have judged Bahram V to have been rather a weak monarch, after the heart of the grandees and the priests
11.
The Seven Beauties
–
The Seven Beauties also known as Bahramnameh is a famous romantic epic by Azerbaijani poet from city of Ganja Nizami Ganjavi written in 1197. This poem is a part of the Nizamis Khamsa, the original title Haft Peykar can be translated literally as “seven portraits” with the figurative meaning of “seven beauties. ”Both translations are meaningful and the poet doubtless exploited intentionally the ambiguity of the words. The poem was dedicated to the Ahmadili ruler of Maragha, Ala-al-Din Korpe Arslan bin Aq-Sonqor, the poem is a masterpiece of erotic literature, but it is also a profoundly moralistic work. A critical edition of the Seven Beauties was produced by Helmut Ritter and Jan Rypka on the basis of fifteen manuscripts of Khamsa, more recently, the poem was re-edited by the Azerbaijani scholar T. A. Maharramov. There is also uncritical edition by Wahid Dastgerdi and an edition by Barat Zanjani, the poetry German translation of a passage from the poem named Bahram Gur and Russian princess made by orientalist Franz Erdmann was published in 1832 in Kazan. There are three complete translations in western European languages, first, in 1924 Charles Edward Wilson translated the poem to English in 2 volumes with extensive notes). Second, Alessandro Bausani in 1967 translated it to Italian, and finally an English version by Julie Scott Meisami published in 1995. The Russian prose version by Rustam Aliyev, which was published Baku in 1983, the partial translations was also made by Rudolf Gelpke in German prose. It should be noted there is an English metatranslation by E. Mattin. In the early 1940s Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov to mark the 800th anniversary of Nizami Ganjavi planned to write seven songs on Nizami poems accordingly to seven beauties of the poem, however Hajibeyov wrote only two songs, Sensiz and Sevgili Janan. In 1952 Azerbaijani composer Gara Garayev composed the ballet Seven Beauties based on motifs of Nizami Ganjavi’s Seven beauties, in 1959 in Baku a bronze sculpture Bahram Gur depicting the hero of the poem Bahram Gur killing serpentine dragon at his feet, was erected. In 1979 the Nizami metro station in Baku was decorated by Azerbaijani painter Mikayil Abdullayev with mosaic murals based on the works of Nizami, three of these murals show the heroes of the Seven Beauties poem
12.
Nizami Ganjavi
–
Nizami Ganjavi, Nizami Ganjei, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī, was a 12th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet. Nezāmi is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature and his heritage is widely appreciated and shared by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, the Kurdistan region and Tajikistan. His personal name was Ilyas and his chosen pen-name was Nezami and he was born of an urban background in Ganja and is believed to have spent his whole life in South Caucasus. According to De Blois, Ganja was a city which at that time had predominantly an Iranian population, the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi mentions that, This city was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians. Because Nezami was not a poet, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties. Tazkerehs, which are the compilations of literary memoirs that include maxims of the poets along with biographical information. Much of this material in these Tazkerehs are based on legends, anecdotes, consequently, few facts are known about Nezamis life, the only source being his own work, which does not provide much information on his personal life. Nezami was orphaned early and was raised by his maternal uncle Khwaja Umar who took responsibility for him and his mother, named Raisa, was of Kurdish background. His father, whose name was Yusuf is mentioned once by Nezami in his poetry, in the same verse, Nezami mentions his grandfathers name as Zakki. In part of the verse, some have taken the word Muayyad as a title for Zakki while others have interpreted it as the name of his great grandfather. Some sources have stated that his father might be possibly from Qom, Nezami is variously mentioned as a Persian and/or Iranian. His first wife was a Kipchak slave girl which was sent to him by Fakhr al-Din Bahramshah, according to Iraj Bashiri she became Nezamis most beloved wife. His only son Mohammad was from this wife and she died after Khosrow and Shirin was completed. Mohammad was seven at the time, Nezami mentions his son again in Layli and Majnun adding that now this son is 14 years old and apple of my eyes. In Haft Peykar, he mentions and advises his son about taking more responsibility as the father was growing more frail. Some modern writers in the late 20th century have claimed that this wife was called Afaq, Nezami was not a philosopher in the sense of Avicenna or an expositor of theoretical Sufism in the sense of Ibn Arabi. Often referred to by the honorific Hakim, Nezami is both a poet and master of a lyrical and sensuous style. About Nezamis prodigious learning there is no doubt, poets were expected to be well versed in many subjects, but Nezami seems to have been exceptionally so
13.
Herat
–
Herat is the third-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 436,300, and serves as the capital of Herat Province and it is linked with Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif via highway 1 or the ring road. It is further linked to the city of Mashhad in neighboring Iran through the town of Islam Qala. Herat dates back to the Avestan times and was known for its wine. The city has a number of sites, including the Herat Citadel. During the Middle Ages Herat became one of the important cities of Khorasan and it has been governed by various Afghan rulers since the early 18th century. In 1717, the city was invaded by the Hotaki forces until they were expelled by the Afsharids in 1736, after Nader Shahs death and Ahmad Shah Durranis rise to power in 1747, Herat became part of Afghanistan. It witnessed some political disturbances and military invasions during the half of the 19th century. Herat suffered from destruction during the Soviet war in the 1980s. Herat lies on the ancient trade routes of the Middle East, Central, the roads from Herat to Iran, Turkmenistan, and other parts of Afghanistan are still strategically important. As the gateway to Iran, it collects high amount of revenue for Afghanistan. The city has an international airport, Herat is a regional hub in western Afghanistan in close proximity to Iran and Turkmenistan. The city has high residential density clustered around the core of the city, however, vacant plots account for a higher percentage of the city than residential land use and agricultural is the largest percentage of total land use. Herat dates back to ancient times, but its exact age remains unknown, during the period of the Achaemenid Empire, the surrounding district was known as Hariva, and in classical sources the region was correspondingly known as Aria. In the Zoroastrian Avesta, the district is mentioned as Haroiva, the name of the district and its main town is derived from that of the chief river of the region, the Herey River, which traverses the district and passes some 5 km south of modern Herāt. Herey is mentioned in Sanskrit as yellow or golden color equivalent to Persian Zard meaning Gold, the naming of a region and its principal town after the main river is a common feature in this part of the world—compare the adjoining districts/rivers/towns of Arachosia and Bactria. The district Aria of the Achaemenid Empire is mentioned in the lists that are included in various royal inscriptions, for instance. Representatives from the district are depicted in reliefs, e. g. at the royal Achaemenid tombs of Naqsh-e Rustam and they are wearing Scythian-style dress and a twisted Bashlyk that covers their head, chin and neck
14.
Afghanistan
–
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
15.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
–
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially the Met, is located in New York City and is the largest art museum in the United States, and is among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent collection contains two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments. The main building, on the edge of Central Park along Manhattans Museum Mile, is by area one of the worlds largest art galleries. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains a collection of art, architecture. On March 18,2016, the museum opened the Met Breuer museum at Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side, it extends the museums modern, the Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, Indian, and Islamic art. The museum is home to collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, as well as antique weapons. Several notable interiors, ranging from first-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870. The founders included businessmen and financiers, as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day and it opened on February 20,1872, and was originally located at 681 Fifth Avenue. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, the museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. A number of interiors, ranging from 1st century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Mets galleries. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Met organizes and hosts traveling shows throughout the year. The director of the museum is Thomas P. Campbell, a long-time curator and it was announced on February 28th,2017 that Campbell will be stepping down as the Mets director and CEO, effective June. On March 1st,2017 the BBC reported that Daniel Weiss shall be the acting CEO until a replacement is found, Beginning in the late 19th century, the Met started to acquire ancient art and artifacts from the Near East. From a few tablets and seals, the Mets collection of Near Eastern art has grown to more than 7,000 pieces. The highlights of the include a set of monumental stone lamassu, or guardian figures. The Mets Department of Arms and Armor is one of the museums most popular collections. Among the collections 14,000 objects are many pieces made for and used by kings and princes, including armor belonging to Henry VIII of England, Henry II of France, Rockefeller donated his more than 3, 000-piece collection to the museum. The Mets Asian department holds a collection of Asian art, of more than 35,000 pieces, the collection dates back almost to the founding of the museum, many of the philanthropists who made the earliest gifts to the museum included Asian art in their collections
16.
New York City
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
17.
Devonshire Hunting Tapestries
–
The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries are a group of four magnificent Flemish tapestries dating from the mid-fifteenth century. These enormous works, each over 3 metres wide, depict men and women in dress of the early fifteenth century hunting in a forest. The tapestries formerly belonged to the Duke of Devonshire, the 6th Duke described using his spare tapestry to insulate the Long Gallery at Hardwick Hall in the 1840s, a practice which saved these rare Gothic hangings from being discarded. The tapestries depict a Deer Hunt, Falconry, a Swan and Otter Hunt, the hunt was a particularly powerful theme and would have been a familiar pastime to many of the high-born individuals and families who owned tapestries. Hunting was both a sport and an important source of the only meats considered noble. Much of the charm of these lies in the elaborate costume detail. The lady crossing the stream on the right has Monte le Desire inscribed on her flowing sleeve. This is the line of a popular song of the period. The dress of the participants is of the type worn at court, particularly that of Burgundy and it is unlikely that any serious hunting took place in such restricting and exotic clothes. View the Tapestries The sign of the dog, an examination of the Devonshire hunting tapestries, Ann Claxton, Journal of Medieval History, Volume 14, Issue 2,1988
18.
Gentile da Fabriano
–
Gentile da Fabriano was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic painter style. He worked in places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his Adoration of the Magi from the Strozzi Altarpiece, Gentile was born in or near Fabriano, in the Marche. His mother died some time before 1380, and his father, Niccolò di Giovanni Massi, retired to a monastery in the same year, where he died in 1385. Little is known of his formation, one of his first known works, by around 1405, Gentile da Fabriano was working in Venice. He painted a panel for the church of Santa Sofia, now lost, between 1408 and 1409, he painted a fresco in the Doges Palace depicting the naval battle between the Venetians and Otto III. In Venice he knew Pisanello and perhaps Michelino da Besozzo, from 1410–1412 is one of his first masterworks, the Valle Romita Polyptych. In 1410–1411 he was at Foligno, where he frescoed the Palazzo Trinci, in 1414 he moved to Brescia, at the service of Pandolfo III Malatesta, and painted the Broletto Chapel, a work now mostly lost. In the Spring 1420 he was again in Fabriano and his other works in Florence include the Quaratesi Polyptych. In June–August 1425 he was in Siena, where he painted a Madonna with Child, now lost, until October he was in Orvieto, where he painted his fresco of the Madonna and Child in the Cathedral. In 1427 he arrived in Rome, commissioned by Pope Martin V the decoration of the nave of the Basilica of St. John in Lateran, Gentile is known to have died before 14 October 1427. He is commonly said to have buried in the church now called S. Francesca Romana in Florence, but his tomb vanished, there is evidence, however, that he may be buried in the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, in Rome, the place of his death. He left no works in the Marche, except possibly a Madonna and Child in the Duomo at SantAngelo in Vado and he also left one painting in Venice. Fabio Marcelli, Gentile da Fabriano, Silvana,2005, andrea De Marchi, Gentile da Fabriano. Un viaggio nella pittura italiana alla fine del gotico, Federico Motta,2006, Gentile da Fabriano biography-paintings-curiosity-publications Italian Paintings, Sienese and Central Italian Schools, a collection catalog containing information about Fabriano and his works. 5 paintings of Gentile da Fabriano
19.
Adoration of the Magi (Gentile da Fabriano)
–
The Adoration of the Magi is a painting by the Italian painter Gentile da Fabriano. The work, housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, is considered his finest work, the painting was commissioned by the Florentine literate and patron of the arts Palla Strozzi, at the arrival of the artist in the city in 1420. Palla paid 300 florins for the altarpiece, or about six times the salary of a skilled labourer. According to other opinions, the falcon trainer depicts the commissioner Palla Strozzi with his eldest son Lorenzo to his right, finished in 1423, the painting was placed in the new chapel of the church of Santa Trinita which Lorenzo Ghiberti was executing in these years. The works shows both the international and Sienese schools influences on Gentiles art, combined with the Renaissance novelties he knew in Florence, all the figures wear splendid Renaissance costumes, brocades richly decorated with real gold and precious stones inserted in the panel. Gentiles typical attention for detail is evident in the exotic animals, such as a leopard, a dromedary, some apes and a lion, as well as the magnificent horses. The frame is also a work of art, characterized by three cusps with tondoes portraying Christ Blessing and the Annunciation, the predella has three rectangular paintings with scenes of Jesus childhood, the Nativity, the Flight into Egypt and the Presentation at the Temple
20.
Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Masaccio)
–
The Madonna and Child with St. Anne, also known as SantAnna Metterza, is a painting of c.1424 by the Italian Renaissance painter Masaccio, probably in collaboration with Masolino da Panicale. The painting is in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy, the Virgin and Child, with its powerful volume and solid possession of space by means of an assured perspectival structure, is one of the earliest works credited to Masaccio. The figure of St. Anne is much worn and hence to be judged with difficulty, but her hand, masaccios work shows the influence of Donatello in its soft, rounded forms and realistic texture. The ‘Madonna and Child with Saint Anne’ was originally commissioned for the Sant’Ambrogio church in Florence, according to Vasari, “It was placed in the chapel door which leads to the nuns’ parlour”. The figure of Christ is that of a child, a realistic presence. John T. Spike, Masaccio, Rizzoli libri illustrati, Milano 2002 ISBN 88-7423-007-9 AA. VV, Galleria degli Uffizi, collana I Grandi Musei del Mondo, Roma 2003. Pierluigi De Vecchi ed Elda Cerchiari, I tempi dellarte, volume 2, Bompiani, Milano 1999
21.
Crucifixion (Masaccio)
–
Crucifixion is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Masaccio. A chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa commissioned an altarpiece from Masaccio on February 19,1426 for the sum of 80 florins, payment for the work was recorded on December 26 of that year. The altarpiece was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century, eleven pieces have been found as of 2010, and they are insufficient to reliably reconstruct the whole work. The Crucifixion is one of the surviving panels connected with the Pisa Altarpiece, the Crucifixion was placed above the central panel of the altarpiece, which represented the Virgin enthroned with the baby Jesus on her lap, flanked by 2 pairs of angels. In this way, he attempts to tie the viewer to the scene and this is not the crucifixion in the mosaic of the dormition
22.
Madonna and Child (Masaccio)
–
The Madonna and Child with Angels is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Masaccio, who worked in collaboration with his brother Giovanni and with Andrea di Giusto. The painting is in a damaged state, the altarpiece having been cut up. Today the panel is smaller than its state, it has lost perhaps as much as 8 cm. at the bottom. Eleven surviving panels of the altarpiece, which is the only documented work by Masaccio, are in various museums, scholars hypothesize the reconstruction of the altarpiece based on a very complete description by Vasari. The painting contains six figures, the Madonna and Child and four angels, the Madonna is the centre figure and is larger than any of the others to signify her importance. Christ sits on her knees, eating grapes offered to him by his mother, although he is an exceedingly babyish baby, the grapes are a symbol of his blood – like the red wine of Communion – which indicates Christs awareness of his eventual death. The Madonna looks sorrowfully at her child, as she realises his fate. Originally a panel of the Crucifixion stood above this painting, underlining the sacrificial nature of the image, the baby Jesus is less of a small man and more childlike. An attempt at creating depth has been attempted by Massacios placement of the two angels and through the use of linear perspective in the throne. Modeling is clearly visible as the source is coming from the left of the painting. The Madonna is a figure, deriving from classical models. Masaccio has used linear perspective to create space, it can be seen on the orthogonal on the cornice of her throne. The vanishing point is at the childs foot, the reason for this is that the work was originally located above a representation of the Adoration of the Magi, in which one of the magi kisses Jesus foot. Although the paintings are different the Madonna is more or less in the same position in both works. This parallelism is designed to make viewers have the attitude as the magus when looking at the Madonna. They are imagined to be kneeling in front of Mary, and could easily lean forward to kiss the foot of Jesus
23.
Holy Trinity (Masaccio)
–
The Holy Trinity, with the Virgin and Saint John and donors is a fresco by the Early Italian Renaissance painter Masaccio. It is located in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, the Trinity is thought to have been created by Masaccio sometime between 1425-1427. He died in late 1428 at the age of 26, or having just turned 27 and this painting was one of his last major commissions, and is considered to be one of his masterpieces. The fresco is located along the middle of the left aisle. There was also an altar, mounted as a shelf-ledge between the upper and lower sections of the fresco, further emphasizing the reality of the artiface, not much is known about the details of the commission, no contemporaneous documents naming the altar-pieces patron have been found. The two donor portraits included in the fresco, one figure kneeling on either side of the archway, have not been positively identified, the persons depicted are almost certainly contemporary Florentines, either the persons who funded the work, or relatives or close associates. According to the conventions of such depictions, it is generally. Presumably, the representations in the serve as relatively accurate likenesses of their actual appearance at the time when their portraits were created. It has been hypothesized that Fra Alessio Strozzi and/or Filippo Brunelleschi may have involved, or at least consulted. Brunelleschis work on perspective and architecture certainly inspired the painting. Fra Alessios involvement has been posited more on the matter of the depiction of the Holy Trinity. Around 1568 Cosimo I, then Duke of Florence, commissioned Giorgio Vasari to undertake renovation work at Santa Maria Novella, in keeping with the tastes. This work included reconfiguring and redecoration of the chapel-area in which Masaccios fresco was located, Vasari had already written about Masaccio, including a highly favourable mention of this specific work, in his Vite. To decorate the new altar, Vasari painted a Madonna of the Rosary, the image is still extant, Masaccios Holy Trinity was rediscovered when Vasaris altar was dismantled during renovations in 1860. The Crucifixion, the part of the fresco, was subsequently transferred to canvas. It is unclear from available sources whether the section of the fresco. Restoration was done to the Crucifixion section of the painting at that time, to replace missing areas of the design, while the painting was in damaged condition when rediscovered, it is also likely that further damage was caused by the transfer from plaster to canvas. In the 20th century, the cadaver tomb portion of the work was rediscovered still in situ, leonetto Tintori undertook restoration work on the combined whole during 1950-1954
24.
Giovanni di Paolo
–
Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena. He may have apprenticed with Taddeo di Bartolo, becoming a painter and illustrator of manuscripts. He was one of the most important painters of the 15th century Sienese School and his early works show the influence of earlier Sienese masters, but his later style was more individual, characterized by cold, harsh colours and elongated forms. His style also took on the influence of International Gothic artists such as Gentile da Fabriano, many of his works have an unusual dreamlike atmosphere, such as the surrealistic Miracle of St. Giovannis reputation declined after his death but was revived in the 20th century. Giovanni di Paolo was first documented in 1417 working for the Sienese Dominican Order as a miniaturist, most of Giovannis commissions came from local monastic communities which is apparent because so many of his early works are altarpieces for such churches. Giovanni di Paolo was influenced by great artists in Trecento and Quattrocento. It is believed that he may have owned a book of other artists’ work he could flip through. A few of these include the following, Gentile da Fabrianos two Florentine altarpieces, Ambrogio Lorenzettis Presentation in the Temple, and the Baptistery reliefs by Donatello and he would then be able to alter, modify, and combine these artists’ works into his own renderings. Giovanni di Paolo was influenced by artists during his time. Giovannis Raising of Lazarus is based on the scene of Duccios Maestà. But where Duccios figures are sober and restrained, Giovanni di Paolos are voluble, Giovanni was open to solutions other than the Sienese tradition which. made him receptive to sources farther afield as well. One of these is the occasion where he painted a picture he had drawn from a mural in Assisi and his work and style show the transition from the Sienese and Gothic style into the Renaissance. His style also took on the influence of International Gothic artists such as Gentile da Fabriano and he was an artist of great consequence who had been invited by Pope Martin V to Rome. On his way to Rome, Gentile stopped in Siena, where Giovanni quickly assimilated Gentiles techniques, one technique he kept was Gentiles fascination with nature. Instead of using standing saints, as was customary, in his painting Giovanni used sprigs of flowering plants, where Gentile was capable of darkness and mystery, Giovanni. saw nature as untarnished and ever-benign. These works of art that Giovanni integrated into his own were. waiting to be imbued with personal meaning a creation Giovanni was able to do well. Later in his life Giovanni became greatly skilled at painting illuminated manuscripts, the illuminations that he created for Dantes poem are some of his most famous and best preserved works. His illuminations are one area viewers can see how Giovanni di Paolo differentiates himself from other Sienese artists and he may have been in contact with Franco-Flemish illuminators, who had been in Siena during Giovannis early years
25.
Triptych
–
A triptych is a work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works, the middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry, despite its connection to an art format, the term is sometimes used more generally to connote anything with three parts, particularly if they are integrated into a single unit. The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was a standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches to the Celtic churches in the west, renaissance painters such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form. Triptych forms also allow ease of transport, from the Gothic period onward, both in Europe and elsewhere, altarpieces in churches and cathedrals were often in triptych form. One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is Llandaff Cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, contains two examples by Rubens, and Notre Dame de Paris is another example of the use of triptych in architecture. One can also see the form echoed by the structure of many stained glass windows. Although strongly identified as a form, triptychs outside that context have been created, some of the best-known examples being works by Hieronymus Bosch, Max Beckmann. The then highest price paid for an artwork at auction was $142.4 million for a 1969 triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud. The record was broken in May 2015 by $179.4 million for Pablo Picassos 1955 painting Les Femmes d’Alger, the format has migrated and been used in other religions, including Islam and Buddhism. Likewise, Tibetan Buddhists have used it in traditional altars, a photographic triptych is a common style used in modern commercial artwork. The photographs are arranged with a plain border between them. The work may consist of images that are variants on a theme
26.
San Giovenale Triptych
–
This work, discovered in 1961 in a state of poor preservation, in the loft of a house adjacent to the small chapel of San Giovenale two kilometres from Cascia by Juliana Arnetoli. It had allegedly been there before the Second World War to prevent the occupying German army from removing it from the chapel. It is probably the first original work by Masaccio and it was commissioned by the Florentine family of Castellani for the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and was later moved to San Giovenale. It is dated at the bottom in modern humanist letters, the first work in Europe not inscribed in Gothic characters, the central panel shows the Madonna enthroned with two angels and the child Jesus eating some vine, as a symbol of the Eucharist. The halo of the Madonna bears the Shahada written backwards, the left panel depicts Saint Bartholomew and Saint Blaise, and the right panel depicts Saint Anthony and Saint Juvenal. The left and right panels show an influence of 14th century models. Also, the use of three-dimensional solidity makes the painting revolutionary for its time
27.
Donatello
–
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance sculptor from Florence. He worked with stone, bronze, wood, clay, stucco and wax, and had several assistants, with four perhaps being a typical number. Though his best-known works were mostly statues in the round, he developed a new, very shallow, type of bas-relief for small works, and a good deal of his output was larger architectural reliefs. Donatello was the son of Niccolò di Betto Bardi, who was a member of the Florentine Arte della Lana, Donatello was educated in the house of the Martelli family. He apparently received his artistic training in a goldsmiths workshop. While undertaking study and excavations with Filippo Brunelleschi in Rome, work that gained the two men the reputation of treasure seekers, Donatello made a living by working at goldsmiths shops. In 1409–1411 he executed the colossal seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, which until 1588 occupied a niche of the old cathedral façade and this work marks a decisive step forward from late Gothic Mannerism in the search for naturalism and the rendering of human feelings. The face, the shoulders and the bust are still idealized, while the hands, in 1411–13, Donatello worked on a statue of St. Mark for the guild church of Orsanmichele. In 1417 he completed the Saint George for the Confraternity of the Cuirass-makers, the elegant St. George and the Dragon relief on the statues base, executed in schiacciato is one of the first examples of central-point perspective in sculpture. From 1423 is the Saint Louis of Toulouse for the Orsanmichele, Donatello had also sculpted the classical frame for this work, which remains, while the statue was moved in 1460 and replaced by Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Verrocchio. Between 1415 and 1426, Donatello created five statues for the campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, also known as the Duomo. These works are the Beardless Prophet, Bearded Prophet, the Sacrifice of Isaac, Habbakuk, and Jeremiah, from the late teens is the Pazzi Madonna relief in Berlin. In 1425, he executed the notable Crucifix for Santa Croce, this work portrays Christ in a moment of the agony, eyes and mouth partially opened, the body contracted in an ungraceful posture. From 1425 to 1427, Donatello collaborated with Michelozzo on the monument of the Antipope John XXIII for the Battistero in Florence. Donatello made the recumbent bronze figure of the deceased, under a shell, in 1427, he completed in Pisa a marble relief for the funerary monument of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci at the church of SantAngelo a Nilo in Naples. In the same period, he executed the relief of the Feast of Herod, the relief is mostly in stiacciato, with the foreground figures are done in bas-relief. Around 1430, Cosimo de Medici, the foremost art patron of his era and this is now Donatellos most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity. Also from this period is the disquietingly small Love-Atys, housed in the Bargello, some have perceived the David as having homo-erotic qualities, and have argued that this reflected the artists own orientation
28.
Zuccone
–
Lo Zuccone is a marble statue by Donatello. It was commissioned for the tower of the Florence Cathedral of Florence, Italy. It is also known as the Statue of the Prophet Habakkuk, the statue is known for its realism and naturalism, which differed from most statuary commissioned at the time. Zuccone is reported to have been Donatellos favorite, and he was said to swear by the sculpture, Donatello is said to have shouted speak, damn you, speak. At the marble as he was carving it and it has been described as the most important marble sculpture of the fifteenth century. It is now in the Museo dellOpera del Duomo in Florence
29.
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence)
–
The Museo dellOpera del Duomo in Florence, Italy is a museum containing many of the original works of art created for the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral of Florence. As of August 2013, the director of the museum is Fr, the museum is located just east of the Duomo, near its apse. It opened in 1891, and now houses what has called one of the worlds most important collections of sculpture. It was reported on August 6,2013, that a tourist had accidentally snapped a finger off a 14th-century statue of the Virgin Mary by Giovanni dAmbrogio, the finger itself was from a later repair, not part of the original work. Museo dellOpera del Duomo - Official Site
30.
Florence
–
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
31.
Siena
–
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena, the historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nations most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008, Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year. Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans when it was inhabited by a called the Saina. A Roman town called Saena Julia was founded at the site in the time of the Emperor Augustus, the first document mentioning it dates from AD70. Some archaeologists assert that Siena was controlled for a period by a Gaulish tribe called the Senones, according to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius, two sons of Remus and thus nephews of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their fathers murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants. Additionally they rode white and black horses, giving rise to the Balzana, some claim the name Siena derives from Senius. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan family name Saina, Siena did not prosper under Roman rule. It was not sited near any major roads and lacked opportunities for trade and its insular status meant that Christianity did not penetrate until the 4th century AD, and it was not until the Lombards invaded Siena and the surrounding territory that it knew prosperity. Siena prospered as a trading post, and the constant streams of pilgrims passing to, the oldest aristocratic families in Siena date their line to the Lombards surrender in 774 to Charlemagne. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the Republic of Siena, the Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the late 11th century until the year 1555. During the golden age of Siena before the Black Death in 1348, in the Italian War of 1551–59, the republic was defeated by the rival Duchy of Florence in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on 17 April 1555, the new Spanish King Felipe II, owing huge sums to the Medici, ceded it to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until the unification of Italy in the 19th century. A Republican government of 700 Sienese families in Montalcino resisted until 1559, the picturesque city remains an important cultural centre, especially for humanist disciplines. The city lies at 322 m above sea level, the Siena Cathedral, begun in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque-Gothic architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380, the original plan called for an ambitiously massive basilica, the largest then in the world, with, as was customary, an east-west nave. However, the scarcity of funds, in due to war and plague, truncated the project
32.
Masolino da Panicale
–
Masolino da Panicale was an Italian painter. His best known works are probably his collaborations with Masaccio, Madonna with Child and St. Anne, Masolino was born in Panicale He may have been an assistant to Ghiberti in Florence between 1403 and 1407. In 1423, he joined the Florentine guild Arte dei Medici e Speziali and he may have been the first artist to create of oil paintings in the 1420s, rather than Jan van Eyck in the 1430s, as was previously supposed. He spent many years traveling, including a trip to Hungary from September 1425 to July 1427 under the patronage of Pipo of Ozora and he painted a cycle of 300 famous historical figures in the Orsini Palace in Rome about 1433-4 and also worked in Todi. He spent his years, after 1435, working for Cardinal Branda Castiglione in Castiglione Olona. Section includes external links to works of art, complete works In Florence, Cappella Brancacci, cycle of frescoes in collaboration with Masaccio,1424. Madonna and Child, Saint Anne and the Angels, collaboration with Masaccio, tempera on wood,1424, Uffizi, Madonna dellUmiltà, tempera on wood, 1430–35, Uffizi. In Empoli, Cristo in Pietà, detached fresco,1424, Empoli, Saint Ivo and the Pupils, fresco,1424, Empoli, Church of Saint Steven. Virgin and Child, fresco,1424, Empoli, Church of Saint Steven, in Rome, Fresco of the Life of St Catherine of Alexandria commissioned by Branda da Castiglione in the Basilica di San Clemente, Chapel of Sacrament,1428. Fresco of the Annunciation in the Basilica di San Clemente, Chapel of Sacrament,1428, Fresco of St Christopher in the Basilica di San Clemente, Chapel of Sacrament,1428. Death of the Virgin and Crucifixion, fresco, Pinacoteca Vaticana, in Castiglione Olona, where his patron was Branda da Castiglione, Hungarian Landscape in the Palazzo Branda Castiglione. Story of the Virgin in the Collegiata, frescoes depicting the Life of St. John the Baptist in the Baptistery of Castiglione Olona. In Naples, Miracle of the Snow, ca,1423, triptych, National Museum and Gallery of Capodimonte. In France, Scenes from the Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller, tempera on wood,21 x 39 cm, in Germany, Madonna and Child, tempera on wood, Alte Pinakothek. Madonna and Child, tempera on panel in Kunsthalle Bremen, in the United States, The Annunciation oil and tempera on wood 148 x 115 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. The Archangel Gabriel and The Virgin Annunciate, both ca,1430, tempera on panel, National Gallery of Art. Dispersed pieces of works Lateral panels of an altarpiece with The Ascension at the center, from Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Masolino da Panicale at Panopticon Virtual Art Gallery Masolino da Panicale on Artcyclopedia Herbermann, Charles, ed. Masolino da Panicale
33.
Lorenzo Ghiberti
–
Trained as a goldsmith and sculptor, he established an important workshop for sculpture in metal. His book of Commentari contains important writing on art, as well as what may be the earliest surviving autobiography by any artist, Ghiberti was born in Pelago,20 km from Florence. His father was Bartoluccio Ghiberti, an artist and goldsmith, who trained his son in goldsmithing and he then went to work in the Florence workshop of Bartoluccio di Michele, where Antonio del Pollaiolo also received his training. When the bubonic plague struck Florence in 1400, Ghiberti emigrated to Rimini, Ghibertis career was dominated by his two successive commissions for pairs of bronze doors to the Florence Baptistery. They are recognized as a masterpiece of the Early Renaissance. Ghiberti first became famous when as a 23-year-old he won the 1401 competition for the first set of bronze doors, the original plan was for the doors to depict scenes from the Old Testament, but the plan was changed to depict scenes from the New Testament instead. However, the piece made was of the sacrifice of Isaac. To carry out this commission, he set up a workshop in which many artists trained, including Donatello, Masolino, Michelozzo, Uccello. Instead of twenty-eight scenes, he produced ten rectangular scenes in a different style. These were more naturalistic, with perspective and a greater idealization of the subject, dubbed The Gates of Paradise by Michelangelo, this second set remains a major monument of the age of Renaissance humanism. As recommended by Giotto, Andrea Pisano was awarded the commission to design the first set of doors at the Florence Baptistery in 1329, the south doors were originally installed on the east side facing the Duomo, and were transferred to their present location in 1452. These proto-Renaissance doors consist of 28 quatrefoil panels, with the twenty top panels depicting scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, the eight lower panels depict the eight virtues of hope, faith, charity, humility, fortitude, temperance, justice and prudence. Pisano took six years to them, finishing in 1336. In 1453, Ghiberti and his son Vittorio were commissioned to add a door case to Pisanos existing panels, Ghiberti died in 1455, eight years before the frame was finished leaving a majority of the work to Vitorrio and other members of his workshop. There is a Latin inscription on top of the door, Andreas Ugolini Nini de Pisis me fecit A. D. MCCCXXX, the South Doors were undergoing restoration during September,2016. In 1401, the Arte di Calimala announced a competition to design doors which would eventually be placed on the side of the baptistry. These new doors would serve as an offering to celebrate Florence being spared from relatively recent scourges such as the Black Death in 1348. Many artists competed for this commission and a jury selected seven semifinalists which included Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, at the time of judging, only Ghiberti and Brunelleschi were finalists, and when the judges could not decide, they were assigned to work together on them
