1.
1440s in art
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The decade of the 1440s in art involved some significant events. 1440, Donatello completes his series of sculptures for Prato Cathedral,1440, Luca della Robbia invents new techniques in terra cotta sculpting at about this date. 1440, Rogier van der Weyden begins his travels through the Italian city-states,1445, Fra Angelico is summoned by the Pope to paint frescoes in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament in St. Peters Basilica. 1445, Piero della Francesca is commissioned by the Compagnia della Misericordia in Sansepolcro to paint the Madonna della Misericordia,1448, Giovanni dAlemagna the elder, Antonio Vivarini, Niccolò Pizzolo and Andrea Mantegna are commissioned to decorate the Ovetari Chapel of the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. Anthony and St. 1440s, Master I. A. M. of Zwolle, anonymous Dutch goldsmith and engraver c
2.
15th century in literature
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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
3.
Art
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In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art. The oldest documented forms of art are visual arts, which include creation of images or objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature, until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis, expression, communication of emotion, during the Romantic period, art came to be seen as a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science. Though the definition of what art is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions mention an idea of imaginative or technical skill stemming from human agency. The nature of art, and related such as creativity. One early sense of the definition of art is related to the older Latin meaning. English words derived from this meaning include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, however, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology. Several dialogues in Plato tackle questions about art, Socrates says that poetry is inspired by the muses, and is not rational. He speaks approvingly of this, and other forms of divine madness in the Phaedrus, and yet in the Republic wants to outlaw Homers great poetic art, in Ion, Socrates gives no hint of the disapproval of Homer that he expresses in the Republic. For example, music imitates with the media of rhythm and harmony, whereas dance imitates with rhythm alone, the forms also differ in their object of imitation. Comedy, for instance, is an imitation of men worse than average. Lastly, the forms differ in their manner of imitation—through narrative or character, through change or no change, Aristotle believed that imitation is natural to mankind and constitutes one of mankinds advantages over animals. The second, and more recent, sense of the art as an abbreviation for creative art or fine art emerged in the early 17th century. The creative arts are a collection of disciplines which produce artworks that are compelled by a drive and convey a message, mood. Art is something that stimulates an individuals thoughts, emotions, beliefs, works of art can be explicitly made for this purpose or interpreted on the basis of images or objects. Often, if the skill is being used in a common or practical way, likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it may be considered commercial art instead of fine art. On the other hand, crafts and design are considered applied art
4.
Filippo Lippi
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Fra Filippo Lippi, O. Carm. also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento. Lippi was born in Florence in1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, when he was still a small child, both his parents died. He was sent to live with his aunt Mona Lapaccia, however because she was too poor to rear him and he was 8 years old when he left for the convent and started his education there. In 1420 he was admitted to the community of Carmelite friars of the Priory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Florence, taking vows in the Order the following year. He was ordained as a priest in approximately 1425, and remained in residence of that priory until 1432, georgio Vasari, the first art historian of the renaissance, writes that Lippi was inspired to become a painter by watching Masaccio at work in the Carmine church. Lippis early work, notably the Tarquinia Madonna show that influence from Masaccio, in his Lives of the Artists, Vasari says, Instead of studying, he spent all his time scrawling pictures on his own books and those of others. Due to his interest, the decided to give him the opportunity to learn painting. Lippi then went on to visit to Ancona and Naples, where he was captured by Barbary pirates and his skill in portrait-sketching helped to eventually release him. Louis Gillet, writing for the Catholic Encyclopedia, considers this account assuredly nothing, with his return to Florence in 1432 is paintings had became popular, warranting the support of the Medici family, who commissioned of The Annunciation and the Seven Saints. Cosimo de Medici had to him up in order to compel him to work. His escapades threw him into financial difficulties from which he did not hesitate to extricate himself by forgery and his life included many similar tales of lawsuits, complaints, broken promises and scandal. In 1441 Lippi painted an altarpiece for the nuns of S. Ambrogio which is now a prominent attraction in the Academy of Florence and it represents the coronation of the Virgin among angels and saints, including many Bernardine monks. In 1452 he was appointed chaplain to the nuns at the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene in Florence, in June 1456 Fra Filippo is recorded as living in Prato to paint frescoes in the choir of the cathedral. Lippi asked that she might be permitted to sit for the figure of the Madonna, under that pretext, Lippi engaged in sexual relations with her, abducted her to his own house, and kept her there despite the nuns efforts to reclaim her. This relationship resulted in their son, Filippino Lippi, who became a famous painter following his father, Vasari accounts for this relationship in his publication of The Lives, which was published soon after. In 1457 he was appointed commendatory Rector of S. Quirico in Legania, despite these profits, Lippi struggled to escape poverty throughout his life. The close of Lippis life was spent at Spoleto, where he had commissioned to paint scenes from the life of the Virgin for the apse of the cathedral. In the semidome of the apse is the Christ Crowning the Madonna, with angels, sibyls and this series, which is not wholly equal to the one at Prato, was completed by one of his assistants, his fellow Carmelite, Fra Diamante, after Lippis death
5.
Fresco
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Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
6.
Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist
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The Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist is a fresco cycle by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi and his assistants, executed between 1452 and 1465. It is located in the Great Chapel of the Cathedral of Prato, geminiano Inghirami, the preposto of the Cathedral of Prato, then capitular church, was at the time an influential man in culture and politics, with important friendships in Rome and Florence. He himself a humanist, he often commissioned artworks to Renaissance artists, the city decided to decorate the Great Chapel in the church in 1440, allocating a budget of 1200 gold florins for the work. Inghirami asked archbishop Antonino Pierozzi to call Fra Angelico, however, the aging friar, perhaps due to the extent of the work or because he was already committed to other works, declined the offer. Next was Fra Filippo Lippi, who accepted and established himself in Prato in 1452, collaborators he brought with him included Fra Diamante, who had been his companion in noviciate. Her name was Lucrezia Buti, after acting as his model for some paintings, the two lived together in a house near the citys Duomo. Once the scandal broke out, Lippi and Buti fled from the city and it was however Pope Pius II that granted them the dispensation allowing them to marry. The frescoes were finished in 1465 under the supervision of the new preposto Carlo di Cosimo de Medici, the following year Lippi moved to Spoleto, with his son Filippino and his apprentice Sandro Botticelli, where he died four years later. In October 1993 the paintings were vandalized with a pen by Pietro Cannata who had already performed vandalistic acts on other works of art among which the David of Michelangelo in 1991. They were restored starting from 2001, the chapel being reopened to public in 2007, the cycle occupies the two lateral walls and the end wall of the Cappella Maggiore, covering a surface of 400 m2 in total. At the left are the Stories of St. Stephen, the saint of the church and patron saint of Prato, at the right are the Stories of St. John the Baptist. The end wall, at the side of the glass window are two saints in painted niches and, below, bent around the corners, are the martyrdoms of St. Stephen. At the top, in the pendentives of the cross-vaults, are the four Evangelists, the two saints stories are to be read from the top to the bottom, and mirror each other on the opposite walls. The Stories of St. Stephen include, Kidnapping of Newborn St. Stephen, at the right is the meeting between the young St. Stephen and Bishop Julian, who, according to the legend, took care of him during his adolescence. It shows the saint leaving Julian to being his mission in Cilicia, stoning of St. Stephen Funeral of St. Stephen. Set in a Palaeo-Christian basilica, it shows numerous characters taking part in St. Stephens funeral. They include portrait of true people Lippis time, such as a red-dressed Pope Pius II, Carlo di Cosimo de Medici behind him, and, next to them, the Joyous Friar — the Story of Fra Filippo Lippi. Disposition as a tool, Fra Fillipo, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca
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Prato Cathedral
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It is dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It is one of the most ancient churches in the city and it was built in several successive stages in the Romanesque style. The church contains a number of works of art, in particular fine sculpture. The church of Saint Stephen was built in a meadow after an appearance of the Virgin Mary near the village of Borgo al Cornio. The first building was a parish church. Which the earliest document dates from AD994, the expansion of the church began in the 15th century and transformed the modest building into one of the most lovely Gothic-Romanesque buildings in Tuscany. The cathedral is documented as early as the 10th century as the Pieve di Santo Stefano, located in the Borgo al Cornio, the first settlement in Prato. The current structure dates from the Romanesque period of the 12th century, the upper stage of the bell tower was constructed in 1356. During the 14th century the cathedral acquired an important relic, the Sacra Cintola or Belt of the Holy Virgin. This brought about the enlargement of the edifice by the addition of a transept which is attributed to Giovanni Pisano, the Cintola Chapel was also built at this time to house the relic. In the early 15th century, a new façade or west front was added in the International Gothic style, in the space between the two was created a narthex or corridor leading to the external pulpit, built by Michelozzo and decorated by Donatello between 1428 and 1438. The seven original reliefs of the parapet were removed from the pulpit in 1967, the façade is divided into three sections by shallow buttresses or pilasters. The façade has a central portal with a lintelled doorway surmounted by a Gothic arch. In the lunette over the door is a terracotta sculpture by Andrea della Robbia depicting the Madonna with Saints Stephen. Below the central gable, a clock is set into the façade. It is surrounded by segments of the marble and forms part of the harmonious design. The frescoes of the chapel are also of the 15th century. Internally, the church, built on a Latin cross ground plan, has a nave and they are separated by elegant columns of green serpentine, the capitals being attributed to Guidetto
8.
Piero della Francesca
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Piero della Francesca was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. As testified by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, nowadays Piero della Francesca is chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is characterized by its humanism, its use of geometric forms. His most famous work is the cycle of frescoes The History of the True Cross in the church of San Francesco in the Tuscan town of Arezzo. He was most probably apprenticed to the local painter Antonio di Giovanni dAnghiari, because in documents about payments it is noted that he was working with Antonio in 1432 and May 1438. Besides, he took notice of the work of some of the Sienese artists active in San Sepolcro during his youth. In 1439 Piero received, together with Domenico Veneziano, payments for his work on frescoes for the church of SantEgidio in Florence, in Florence he must have met leading masters like Fra Angelico, Luca della Robbia, Donatello and Brunelleschi. The classicism of Masaccios frescoes and his figures in the Santa Maria del Carmine were for him an important source of inspiration. Dating of Pieros undocumented work is difficult because his style does not seem to have developed over the years, in 1442 he was listed as eligible for the City Council of San Sepolcro. Three years later, he received the commission for the Madonna della Misericordia altarpiece for the church of the Misericordia in Sansepolcro, in 1449 he executed several frescoes in the Castello Estense and the church of SantAndrea of Ferrara, also lost. His influence was strong in the later Ferrarese allegorical works of Cosimo Tura. Two years later he was in Rimini, working for the condottiero Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, in this sojourn he executed in 1451 the famous fresco of St. Sigismund and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in the Tempio Malatestiano, as well as Sigismondos portrait. Thereafter Piero was active in Ancona, Pesaro and Bologna, in 1454 he signed a contract for the Polyptych of Saint Augustine in the church of SantAgostino in Sansepolcro. The central panel of this polyptic is lost and the four panels of the wings, a few years later, summoned by Pope Nicholas V, he moved to Rome, here he executed frescoes in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, of which only fragments remain. Two years later he was again in the Papal capital, for frescoes in Vatican Palace which have also been destroyed, the Baptism of Christ, in The National Gallery in London, was executed around 1460 for the high altar of the church of the Priory of S. Other notable works of Piero della Francescas maturity are the frescoes of the Resurrection of Christ in Sansepolcro, in 1452, Piero della Francesca was called to Arezzo to replace Bicci di Lorenzo in painting the frescoes of the basilica of San Francesco. The work was finished before 1466, probably between 1452 and 1456, the cycle of frescoes, depicting the Legend of the True Cross, is generally considered among his masterworks and those of Renaissance painting in general. The story in these frescoes derives from medieval sources as to how timber relics of the True Cross came to be found
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The History of the True Cross
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The History of the True Cross or The Legend of the True Cross is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. It is his largest work, and generally considered one of his finest, and this work demonstrates Piero’s advanced knowledge of perspective and colour, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction. The main episodes depicted are, Death of Adam, the Queen of Sheba in Adoration of the Wood and The Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. According to the legend, the Queen of Sheba worshiped the beams made from the tree, and informed Solomon that the Saviour would hang from that tree and this caused Solomon to hew it down and bury it, until it was found by the Romans. Constantines Dream Emperor Constantine the Great, before the battle of Milvian Bridge, is awakened by an angel who shows him the cross in heaven, with the cross on his shield, he slew the enemy, and later converted to Christianity. Discovery and Proof of the True Cross, helena, Constantines mother, finds the cross in Jerusalem. It was not easy to get information and when the queen had called them and demanded them the place where our Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified, then commanded she to burn them all or cast them into a dry pit for seven days and there torment them with hunger. The Jew is shown in one fresco being pulled from the pit by a rope, whereupon he confessed that Jesus was his lord, the proof of the cross was that it was used to resurrect a dead man. The cross played a role in battles during the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire, the cycle ends with a depiction of the Annunciation, not strictly part of the Legend of the True Cross but probably included by Piero for its universal meaning. Dating of the frescoes is uncertain, but they are believed to date from after 1447 and it would have been finished around 1466. Most of the choir was painted in the early- to mid-1450s, although the design of the frescoes is evidently Pieros, he seems to have delegated parts of the painting to assistants, as was usual. The hand of Giovanni da Piamonte, in particular, can be recognised in some of the frescoes, the Dictionary of Art, Grove Belton, R. & Kersten, B. Vision and Visions in Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross, translated into English prose by Lucius Hudson Holt. All images in series and interactive model Institute for Advanced Studies web site, the Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle on YouTube, here and here. Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle at art-threads
10.
San Francesco, Arezzo
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The Basilica of San Francesco is a late Medieval church in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, dedicated to St Francis of Assisi. It is especially renowned for housing in the chancel the fresco cycle Legends of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca, San Francesco is the second church built by the Franciscans in Arezzo, an earlier church being located outside the city walls and destroyed during the Occupation. The building work on San Francesco was begun around 1290, the decoration of its façade was never realised. The interior presents as a church of simple unadorned design with a wide single nave, flanked on the left side by some chapels and, on the right side. The tall groin-vaulted chancel is of square plan, beneath the church is a smaller Chiesa inferiore or Lower Church as at Assisi, with a nave and two aisles, now used as exhibition hall. At the chancel entrance is suspended a very large painted crucifix by one Master of San Francesco. It also contains a Maesta or Madonna in Majesty by Guido da Siena, the walls and particularly the niches on the right have some fresco decoration, which dates in part to the 14th century. The Cappella Maggiore, houses one of the masterworks of Italian Early Renaissance, the painting of the chancel began with a commission by the Aretine family Bicci, who called the painter Bicci di Lorenzo to paint the large cross-vault. In 1452, at Biccis death, only the four Evangelists had been painted in the vault, as well as the arch with the Last Judgement. Piero della Francesca was called in to complete the work, according to a document, he did so in two stages, the works halted during 1458-1459, and completed in 1466. The frescoes occupy three levels on the walls and the eastern wall, surrounding a large window. The theme of the cycle is the Golden Legend by Jacopo da Varagine. Piero della Francesca did not follow an order, preferring to concentrate himself in the creation of symmetrical correspondences between the various scenes. Louis, St. Peter, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, in addition, there is a fine painting of St Mary Magdalene, also by Piero della Francesca, by the door of the Sacristy. Piero della Francesca True Cross The History of the True Cross St. Helen Arezzo Benedetto Sinigardi
11.
Gutenberg Bible
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The Gutenberg Bible was the first major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the Gutenberg Revolution and the age of the book in the West. Widely praised for its aesthetic and artistic qualities, the book has an iconic status. Written in Latin, the Catholic Gutenberg Bible is an edition of the Vulgate, printed by Johannes Gutenberg, in Mainz, in present-day Germany, in the 1450s. Since its publication,49 copies have survived, and they are considered to be among the most valuable books in the even though no complete copy has been sold since 1978. In March 1455, the future Pope Pius II wrote that he had seen pages from the Gutenberg Bible, being displayed to promote the edition and it is not known how many copies were printed, with the 1455 letter citing sources for both 158 and 180 copies. The 36-line Bible, believed to be the second printed version of the Bible, is sometimes referred to as a Gutenberg Bible. The Gutenberg Bible, an edition of the Vulgate, contains the Latin version of the Hebrew Old Testament and it is mainly the work of Jerome who began his work on the translation in 380 AD, with emendations from the Parisian Bible tradition, and further divergences. The Bible was not Gutenbergs first work, preparation of the Bible probably began soon after 1450, and the first finished copies were available in 1454 or 1455. It is not known exactly how long the Bible took to print, the first precisely datable printing is the Gutenbergs 31-line Indulgence which is known to already exist on 22 October 1454. Gutenberg made three significant changes during the printing process, the first sheets were rubricated by being passed twice through the printing press, using black and then red ink. This was soon abandoned, with spaces being left for rubrication to be added by hand, some time later, after more sheets had been printed, the number of lines per page was increased from 40 to 42, presumably to save paper. Therefore, pages 1 to 9 and pages 256 to 265, page 10 has 41, and from there on the 42 lines appear. The increase in number was achieved by decreasing the interline spacing. Finally, the print run was increased, necessitating resetting those pages which had already been printed, the new sheets were all reset to 42 lines per page. Consequently, there are two settings in folios 1-32 and 129-158 of volume I and folios 1-16 and 162 of volume II. The most reliable information about the Bibles date comes from a letter, in March 1455, the future Pope Pius II wrote that he had seen pages from the Gutenberg Bible, being displayed to promote the edition, in Frankfurt. It is not known how many copies were printed, with the 1455 letter citing sources for both 158 and 180 copies
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Movable type
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Movable type is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document usually on the medium of paper. In 1377, currently the oldest extant movable metal print book, the diffusion of both movable-type systems was, however, limited. Around 1450 Johannes Gutenberg made another version of a metal printing press in Europe, along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix. The more limited number of characters needed for European languages was an important factor, Gutenberg was the first to create his type pieces from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony—and these materials remained standard for 550 years. For alphabetic scripts, movable-type page setting was quicker than woodblock printing, the metal type pieces were more durable and the lettering was more uniform, leading to typography and fonts. The high quality and relatively low price of the Gutenberg Bible established the superiority of movable type in Europe, the printing press may be regarded as one of the key factors fostering the Renaissance and due to its effectiveness, its use spread around the globe. The 19th-century invention of hot metal typesetting and its successors caused movable type to decline in the 20th century, the technique of imprinting multiple copies of symbols or glyphs with a master type punch made of hard metal first developed around 3000 BC in ancient Sumer. These metal punch types can be seen as precursors of the letter punches adapted in later millennia to printing with metal type. Cylinder seals were used in Mesopotamia to create an impression on a surface by rolling the seal on wet clay and they were used to sign documents and mark objects as the owners property. By 650 BC the ancient Greeks were using larger diameter punches to imprint small page images onto coins and tokens, seals and stamps may have been precursors to movable type. A few authors even view the disc as technically meeting all definitional criteria to represent an early incidence of movable-type printing, recently it has been alleged by Jerome Eisenberg that the disk is a forgery. The Prüfening dedicatory inscription is medieval example of movable type stamps being used, yet copying books by hand was still labour-consuming. Not until the Xiping Era, towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty did sealing print and it was soon used for printing designs on fabrics, and later for printing texts. Woodblock printing, invented by about the 8th century during the Tang Dynasty, then carvers cut away the parts of the board that were not part of the character, so that the characters were cut in relief, completely differently from those cut intaglio. When printing, the characters would have some ink spread on them. With workers’ hands moving on the back of paper gently, characters would be printed on the paper, by the Song Dynasty, woodblock printing came to its heyday. Although woodblock printing played a role in spreading culture, there remained some apparent drawbacks. Firstly, carving the printing plate required considerable time, labour and materials, secondly, it was not convenient to store these plates, with woodblock printing, one printing plate could be used for tens of hundreds of books, playing a magnificent role in spreading culture
13.
Johannes Gutenberg
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Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. Gutenberg in 1439 was the first European to use the printing press and his truly epochal invention was the combination of these elements into a practical system that allowed the mass production of printed books and was economically viable for printers and readers alike. Gutenbergs method for making type is considered to have included a type metal alloy. The alloy was a mixture of lead, tin, and antimony that melted at a low temperature for faster and more economical casting, cast well. In Renaissance Europe, the arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of communication which permanently altered the structure of society. Gutenbergs printing technology spread rapidly throughout Europe and later the world and his major work, the Gutenberg Bible, has been acclaimed for its high aesthetic and technical quality. Gutenberg was born in the German city of Mainz, the youngest son of the upper-class merchant Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden, and his wife, Else Wyrich. It is assumed that he was baptized in the close to his birthplace of St. Christoph. According to some accounts, Friele was a goldsmith for the bishop at Mainz, Gutenbergs year of birth is not precisely known but was most likely around 1398. John Lienhard, technology historian, says Most of Gutenbergs early life is a mystery and his father worked with the ecclesiastic mint. Gutenberg grew up knowing the trade of goldsmithing and this is supported by historian Heinrich Wallau, who adds, In the 14th and 15th centuries his claimed a hereditary position as. Retainers of the household of the master of the archiepiscopal mint, in this capacity they doubtless acquired considerable knowledge and technical skill in metal working. They supplied the mint with the metal to be coined, changed the species of coins. Wallau adds, His surname was derived from the inhabited by his father and his paternal ancestors zu Laden. The house of Gänsfleisch was one of the families of the town. Patricians in Mainz were often named after houses they owned, around 1427, the name zu Gutenberg, after the family house in Mainz, is documented to have been used for the first time. In 1411, there was an uprising in Mainz against the patricians, as a result, the Gutenbergs are thought to have moved to Eltville am Rhein, where his mother had an inherited estate. According to historian Heinrich Wallau, All that is known of his youth is that he was not in Mainz in 1430 and it is presumed that he migrated for political reasons to Strasbourg, where the family probably had connections
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Mainz
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Mainz is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city is famous as the home of the invention of the printing press. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English by its French name, Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people, Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway. Mainzs history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to the Rhine river historically handling much of the regions waterborne cargo, todays huge container port hub allowing trimodal transport is located on the North Side of the town. The river also provides another positive effect, moderating Mainzs climate, after the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a reserve with a unique landscape. When the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC, the buildings near the Rhine River, historical sources and archaeological findings both prove the importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum, the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later, although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main river, the name of Mainz is not from Main, the similarity being perhaps due to diachronic analogy. Main is from Latin Menus, the name the Romans used for the river, linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name Mainz has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of Mogontiacum. The name appears to be Celtic and ultimately it is, however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its position at the confluence of the Main. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river, the castrum was the base of Legio XIIII Gemina and XVI Gallica, XXII Primigenia, IIII Macedonica, I Adiutrix, XXI Rapax, and XIIII Gemina, among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica, remains of Roman troop ships and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt. A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public
15.
Benozzo Gozzoli
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Benozzo Gozzoli was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. He is best known for a series of murals in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi depicting festive, vibrant processions with fine attention to detail and he is considered one of the most prolific fresco painters of his generation. While he was active in Tuscany, he also worked in Umbria. He was born Benozzo di Lese in the village of SantIlario a Colombano around 1421 and he moved with his family, including the painters Francesco, Gerolamo, and Alesso di Benozzo, to Florence in 1427. According to the 16th century Italian biographer Giorgio Vasari, Benozzo Gozzoli was in the part of his career a pupil. Some of the works in the convent of San Marco of Florence were executed by Gozzoli after Fra Angelicos designs, between 1444 and 1447 he collaborated with Lorenzo Ghiberti and his workshop on the Paradise Doors of the Battistero di San Giovanni. On May 23,1447 Gozzoli was with Fra Angelico in Rome, later the pair worked until June 1448 in the Cappella Niccolina for Nicholas V. From 1449 dates a banner with Madonna and Child in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, in Rome he executed also, in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a fresco of St Anthony and Two Angels. Benozzos last collaboration with Angelico is the vault of the Duomo di Orvieto in Umbria, in 1449 he left Angelico, and moved to Umbria. From 1450 is an Annunciation in Narni, signed OPU BENOT DE FLORENT, in the monastery of San Fortunato, near Montefalco, he painted a Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels, and three other works. One of these, the altarpiece representing St Thomas receiving the Girdle of the Virgin, is now in the Lateran Museum and he next painted in the monastery of S. This work was completed in 1452, and is marked by the style of Angelico. In the same church, in the chapel of Saint Jerome, is a fresco by Gozzoli of the Virgin and Saints and he remained at Montefalco probably till 1456, employing Pier Antonio Mezzastris as assistant. Thence he went to Perugia, and painted in a church a Virgin, soon afterwards he returned to his native city Florence, the epicenter of Quattrocento art. Gozzoli incorporated portraits of the Medici family into his fresco The Journey of the Magi, Gozzoli also included his self-portrait in the procession, with his name written around the rim of his cap. His Virgin and Child with Saints of 1461, in the National Gallery, London, in 1464 Gozzoli left Florence for San Gimignano, where he executed some extensive works, in the church of SantAgostino, a composition of St. Here his style combined something of Filippo Lippi with its original elements and he stayed in this city till 1467, and in 1469 began the vast series of mural paintings in the Campo Santo of Pisa with which his name is specially identified. There are twenty-four subjects from the Old Testament, from the Invention of Wine by Noah to the Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon and he contracted to paint three subjects per year for about ten ducats each
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Magi Chapel
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The Magi Chapel is the chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence, Italy. Its walls are almost entirely covered by a cycle of frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted in 1459-1461 for the Medici family. The chapel is on the piano nobile of the palace, and was one of the first decorations executed after the completion of the building, Gozzoli painted his cycle over three of the walls. The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem is covered in three large frescos, each showing the procession of one of the Three Magi on their way to Bethlehem to see the Nativity of Jesus. On that occasion the Medici could boast to have facilitated the reconciliation between the Catholic and the Byzantine churches, the luxury of the Byzantine dignitaries is manifest, and shows the impression they would have at the time on the Florentine population. In the apse the sides walls are painted with saints and angels in adoration, the altarpiece was Filippo Lippis Adoration of the Christ Child, which was painted for this position. This is now in Berlin, with a copy by a follower of Lippi in the chapel, there are also three thin vertical fresco sections showing the shepherds of the nativity. In the 17th century, parts of the frescoes were destroyed to create access for a new staircase, the lively colors and details of the frescoes are backed by the precious mosaics of the pavement, the gilded ceiling and the wooden stalls designed by Giuliano da Sangallo. Gozzoli portrayed rich Tuscan landscapes, probably influenced by Early Netherlandish artists - perhaps via tapestries, which Piero the Gouty, members of the Medici family and their entourage are shown riding in the foreground of the fresco on the east wall. Caspar, the youngest Magus, leads the procession on a white horse and this figure has often been taken for Lorenzo il Magnifico, who was born in 1449 and so was still a boy when the fresco was completed, he is more likely portrayed by another figure. Closely following Caspar are the head of the family, Piero the Gouty, on a white horse. After them is a procession of illustrious Florentines, such as the humanists Marsilio Ficino and the Pulci brothers, the painter looks out at the viewer and can be recognized for the scroll on his red hat, reading Opus Benotii. Little Lorenzo il Magnifico is the boy directly below him with the distinctive snub nose, bearded Balthasar, the middle Magus, rides a white horse on the south wall. He is portrayed with the facial features as Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos. Melchior, the oldest Magus, rides on the west wall, like Cosimo, he is shown as a peacemaker riding on a donkey. He is preceded by a page in blue with a leopard on his horse - although he leads the entire procession, gozzolis patron, Piero de Medici, felt some of the seraphim were unsuitable, and wanted them painted over. Although the artist agreed to do this, it was never actually done, flagellation of Christ - another painting featuring contemporary portraits, the identities of which have been hotly debated. The Chapel of the Magi in Palazzo Medici, secrets of the Medici Palace and Its Private Chapel, Six Studies in the early Italian Renaissance,2014, San Bernardino, Createspace
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Palazzo Medici Riccardi
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The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence, the palace was designed by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo for Cosimo de Medici, head of the Medici banking family, and was built between 1444 and 1484. It was well known for its masonry, which includes architectural elements of rustication. The tripartite elevation used here expresses the Renaissance spirit of rationality, order and this tripartite division is emphasized by horizontal stringcourses that divide the building into stories of decreasing height. Michelozzo di Bartolomeo was influenced in his building of this palace by both classical Roman and Brunelleschian principles, during the Renaissance revival of classical culture, ancient Roman elements were often replicated in architecture, both built and imagined in paintings. In the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the masonry and the cornice had precedents in Roman practice, yet in totality it looks distinctly Florentine. Similarly, the early Renaissance architect Brunelleschi used Roman techniques and influenced Michelozzo, the open colonnaded court that is the center of the palazzo plan has roots in the cloisters that developed from Roman peristyles. The once open corner loggia and shop facing the street were walled in during the 16th century. The new windows are set into what appears to be an infill of the original arched opening. The building reflects the wealth of the Medici family. Then a garden done in the finest of polished marbles, with diverse plants, Cosimo received the young Sforza in the chapel not less ornate and handsome than the rest of the house. Other decorations included two lunettes by Filippo Lippi, depicting Seven Saints and the Annunciation, now at the National Gallery, when the Medici family returned to Florence after their short exile in the early 16th century, they kept a low profile and exercised their power behind the scenes. This is reflected in the exterior of this building, and is said to be the reason why Cosimo de Medici rejected Brunelleschis earlier proposal. The palace was the site of the wedding reception between Ferdinando de Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany and Violante Beatrice of Bavaria in 1689
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Florence
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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
19.
Jean Fouquet
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Jean Fouquet was a preeminent French painter of the 15th century, a master of both panel painting and manuscript illumination, and the apparent inventor of the portrait miniature. He was the first French artist to travel to Italy and experience first-hand the early Italian Renaissance, little is known of his life, but it is certain that he was in Italy before 1447, when he executed a portrait of Pope Eugene IV, who died that year. He worked for the French court, including Charles VII, the treasurer Étienne Chevalier, near the end of his career, he became court painter to Louis XI. His work can be associated with the French courts attempt to solidify French national identity in the wake of its struggle with England in the Hundred Years War. One example is when Fouquet depicts Charles VII as one of the three magi and this is one of the very few portraits of the king. According to some sources, the other two magi are the Dauphin Louis, future Louis XI, and his brother, far more numerous are his illuminated books and miniatures. The Musée Condé in Chantilly contains forty miniatures from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier, Fouquet also illuminated a copy of the Grandes Chroniques de France, for an unknown patron, thought to be either Charles VII or someone else at the royal court. Also from Fouquets hand are eleven of the fourteen miniatures illustrating a translation of Josephus at the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Melun Diptych One of Fouquets most important paintings is the Melun Diptych, formerly in Melun cathedral. The left wing of the diptych depicts Étienne Chevalier with his patron saint St. Stephen, the right wing shows a pale Virgin and Child surrounded by red and blue angels and is now at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. Since at least the seventeenth century, the Virgin has been recognized as a portrait of Agnès Sorel, the Louvre has his oil portraits of Charles VII, of Count Wilczek, and of Guillaume Jouvenel des Ursins, and a portrait drawing in crayon. Melun Diptych Book of Hours of Simon de Varie Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Foucquet, world Digital Library presentation of Antiquités judaïques or Jewish Antiquities. Illuminated parchment manuscripts recount the history of the Jewish people from Creation to the outbreak of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in A. D.66
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Melun Diptych
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The Melun Diptych is a two-panel oil painting by the French court painter Jean Fouquet created around 1452. The name of the came from its original home in the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame in Melun. The left panel depicts Etienne Chevalier with his patron saint St. Stephen, each wooden panel measures about 93 by 85 centimeters and the two would have been hinged together at the center. The two pieces, originally a diptych, are now separated, the left panel now resides in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin and the right panel is now located at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. A self-portrait medallion is also associated with the two panels, measuring 6 centimeters in diameter, it would have adorned the frame, and consists of copper, enamel, and gold. The medallion is now located in the Louvre in Paris, France, on the left Étienne Chevalier, the treasurer to King Charles VII of France, kneels in a red robe with in his hand in a position of prayer. The king liked to have such as Chevalier about him because he thought them more reliable than nobles. On his right is Chevaliers patron saint, St. Stephen and his right arm is draped across Chevaliers shoulder while his left hand holds a book and a jagged rock, his representational attribute as he was stoned to death. Both men gaze off to the right as if they were looking at the Virgin, the wall behind the treasurer and his patron saint is inlaid with marble panels and has elaborate white and gold moldings. The tiled floors neutral colors create a stark contrast with the colors of the mens robes. Identifying Chevalier is an engraving on the wall behind him that says IER ESTIEN and this lettering has been used to link the painting to Fouquet since he never signed any of his work. It is very similar to lettering used in several miniatures which are attributed to him, seated on an elaborate gold throne, the Madonna and the Christ child are depicted in the right panel. The Madonna wears a dress, white mantle and a jewel-encrusted crown. On her lap sits the child, who makes a gesture to the left with His left hand at the patron. The two are surrounded by blue and red cherubim, which greatly contrast with the skin of the Virgin. Although the figures are modeled realistically, the mood is otherworldly, the Madonna is depicted here as the Queen of Heaven and is meant to reveal her as between the veil of heaven and earth. She is both human and otherworldly, the unnatural colors have been attributed to represent the heraldic colors of the king, being red, white, and blue. The Virgin is believed to be a portrait of Agnès Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII
21.
Giovanni Bellini
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Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini and he is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it towards a more sensuous and colouristic style. Through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, Giovanni created deep, rich tints and his sumptuous coloring and fluent, atmospheric landscapes had a great effect on the Venetian painting school, especially on his pupils Giorgione and Titian. Giovanni Bellini was born in Venice and he was brought up in his fathers house, and always lived and worked in the closest fraternal relation with his brother Gentile. Up until the age of nearly thirty we find in his work a depth of religious feeling and his paintings from the early period are all executed in the old tempera method, the scene is softened by a new and beautiful effect of romantic sunrise color. Giovannis early works have often been linked both compositionally and stylistically to those of his brother-in-law, Andrea Mantegna, none of the masters works of this kind, whether painted for the various schools or confraternities or for the ducal palace, have survived. As is the case with a number of his brother, Gentiles public works of the period, the still more famous altar-piece painted in tempera for a chapel in the church of S. Giovanni e Paolo, where it perished along with Titians Peter Martyr, after 1479–1480 much of Giovannis time and energy must also have been taken up by his duties as conservator of the paintings in the great hall of the Doges Palace. Of the other, the class of his work, including both altar-pieces with many figures and simple Madonnas, a considerable number have fortunately been preserved. The old intensity of pathetic and devout feeling gradually fades away and gives place to a noble, if more worldly, serenity, the full splendour of Venetian color invests alike the figures, their architectural framework, the landscape and the sky. An interval of years, no doubt chiefly occupied with work in the Hall of the Great Council, seems to separate the San Giobbe Altarpiece. Formally, the works are similar, so a comparison between serves to illustrate the shift in Bellinis work over the last decade of the 15th century. Both pictures are of the Holy Conversation type, both show the Madonna seated on a throne, between classicizing columns. Both place the holy figures beneath a golden mosaicked half dome that recalls the Byzantine architecture in the basilica of St. Mark. Stylistically, the lighting in the San Zaccaria piece has become so soft, Giovannis use of the oil medium had matured, and the holy figures seem to be swathed in a still, rarefied air. The San Zaccaria is considered perhaps the most beautiful and imposing of all Giovannis altarpieces, and is dated 1505, the last ten or twelve years of the masters life saw him besieged with more commissions than he could well complete. In 1505 she endeavoured through Cardinal Bembo to obtain from him another picture, what the subject of this piece was, or whether it was actually delivered, we do not know. In 1513 Giovannis position as master in charge of the paintings in the Hall of the Great Council was threatened by one of his former pupils
22.
Museo Correr
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The Museo Correr is a museum in Venice, northern Italy. Marks Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, the museum extends along the southside of the square on the upper floors of the Procuratorie Nuove. With its rich and varied collections, the Museo Correr covers both the art and history of Venice, the Museo Correr originated with the collection bequeathed to the city of Venice in 1830 by Teodoro Correr. Upon his death, all material was donated to the city. The nobleman also left the city funds to be used in conserving and extending the collections, several collections ended up being bought by foreigners, but in the early decades of the 19th century there were still many pieces on the market. An insatiable collector, Correr, from his youth bought all sorts of objects, Correr would reveal himself to have a sharp eye, putting together a collection that was undoubtedly very original. He was explicit about his intention that the collections should be available to the public. Subsequent bequests, donations and acquisitions would be added to the collection, in 1887, the enlarged collection was moved from Palazzo Correr to the nearby Fondaco dei Turchi, where it was laid out in a new display. However, in 1922, the Museo Correr was moved again to its present location in Piazza San Marco, in the 1990s, the entire civic museums system was redesigned, all under a single municipal administration. In 1996, thanks to an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the St. Finally, in March 2008, the building that encloses the far end of the Piazza San Marco is known as the Napoleonic Wing. The design and early building works date from the period when Venice was part of the Kingdom of Italy, when the city came under Napoleonic rule, the French emperor and his court realized that public representation of imperial power posed certain logistical and political problems. Having rejected the Doges Palace because of its complex past, these turned to the Procuratie Nuove, the former residence of the Procuratore di San Marco, along the southern edge of the Square. From 1586 to 1596, works were complete on the ten arcades that extended beyond Sansovinos Library, and then, around 1640, and this was the building which, by January 1807, Napoleon decreed should become the Imperial Palace. All the interiors within the Procuratie Nuove were changed with the re-decoration reflecting the taste for Neoclassicism, marks Basilica – which was designed by Giuseppe Soli and Lorenzo Santi and incorporated to the palace. When Venice moved under Austrian dominion in 1814, the served as the House of Habsburg. In 1866, after Venice became part of unified Italy, the passed to the House of Savoy. In 1919, Victor Emmanuel III, king of Italy, handed it over to the State for use by the Ministry of Education. Hence, in 1920, part of the building was used to house the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, an antechamber leads into the Napoleonic Gallery which runs across the end of the Piazza San Marco
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Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
24.
Pavia
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Pavia is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy,35 kilometres south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 572 to 774. Pavia is the capital of the province of Pavia, known for agricultural products including wine, rice, cereals. Although there are a number of industries located in the suburbs, Pavia is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Pavia. The city possesses many artistic and cultural treasures, including several important churches and museums, dating back to pre-Roman times, the town of Pavia, then known as Ticinum, was a municipality and an important military site under the Roman Empire. It was said by Pliny the Elder to have founded by the Laevi and Marici. It was at Pavia in 476 AD that the reign of Romulus Augustulus, ten months after Romulus Augustulus’s reign began, Orestes’s soldiers under the command of one of his officers named Odoacer, rebelled and killed Orestes in the city of Pavia in 476. Without his father Romulus Augustulus was powerless, instead of killing Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer pensioned him off at 6,000 solidi a year before declaring the end of the Western Roman Empire and himself king of the new Kingdom of Italy. Odoacer’s reign as king of Italy did not last long, because in 488 the Ostrogothic peoples led by their king Theoderic invaded Italy and waged war against Odoacer. After fighting for 5 years Theoderic defeated Odoacer and on March 15,493 assassinated Odoacer at a banquet meant to negotiate a peace between the two rulers, with the establishment of the Ostrogoth kingdom based in northern Italy, Theoderic began his vast program of public building. Pavia was among several cities that Theodoric chose to restore and expand and he began the construction of the vast palace complex that would eventually become the residence of Lombard monarchs several decades later. Near the end of Theoderic’s reign the Christian philosopher Boethius was imprisoned in one of Pavia’s churches from 522 to 525 before his execution for treason and it was during Boethius’s captivity in Pavia that he wrote his seminal work the Consolation of Philosophy. Pavia played an important role in the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths that began in 535, after the capitulation of the Ostrogothic leadership in 540 more than a thousand men remained garrisoned in Pavia and Verona dedicated to opposing Eastern Roman rule. The resilience of Ostrogoth strongholds like Pavia against invading forces allowed pockets of Ostrogothic rule to limp along until finally being defeated in 561, Pavia and the peninsula of Italy didn’t remain long under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire for in 568 a new people invaded Italy. This new invading people in 568 were the Lombards, in their invasion of Italy in 568, the Lombards were led by their king Alboin, who would become the first Lombard king of Italy. Alboin captured much of northern Italy in 568 but his progress was halted in 569 by the city of Pavia. Meanwhile Alboin, after driving out the soldiers, took possession of everything as far as Tuscany except Rome and Ravenna and some other fortified places which were situated on the shore of the sea. ”The Siege of Ticinum finally ended with the Lombards capturing the city of Pavia in 572. Pavia’s strategic location and the Ostrogoth palaces located within it would make Pavia by the 620s the main capital of the Lombards’ Kingdom of Pavia, under Lombard rule many monasteries, nunneries, and churches were built at Pavia by the devout Christian Lombard monarchs
25.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
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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
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New York City
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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
27.
Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo
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The Accademia Carrara is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, Italy. The origins of the art gallery lie with the Count Giacomo Carrara, a collector and patron of the arts. After the Counts death, in 1796, his properties were managed by a nominated commissary until 1958, in 1810, a new building in the neoclassical style was constructed, the project being undertaken by the architect Simone Elia, a pupil of Leopoldo Pollack. The museum has continued to augment its collections both with purchases and donations, besides paintings, there are drawings and prints, bronzes and sculptures, as well as collections of porcelain, furniture and medals. In 1793, at the time as the public opening of his gallery. The school, which was located in the building as the art gallery until 1912. Since 1988, it has been an officially recognized Accademia di Belle Arti, presently, it has ten exhibition halls, on three floors. Catalogue of the Pinacoteca of the Accademia Carrara List of academies of art in Italy Accademia Carrara website GAMeC website
28.
Bergamo
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Bergamo is a city in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan and 30 km from the lakes Como and Iseo. The foothills of the Bergamo Alps begin immediately north of the town, Bergamo is the seat of the Province of Bergamo. With a population of around 120,000, Bergamo is the fourth-largest city in Lombardy, the metropolitan area of Bergamo extends beyond the administrative city limits, spanning over a densely urbanized area with slightly less than 500,000 inhabitants. The Bergamo metropolitan area is part of the broader Milan metropolitan area. As of 2015, Bergamo is the second most visited city in Lombardy after Milan, Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of Bergomum, founded as a settlement of the Celtic tribe of Cenomani. In 49 BC it became a Roman municipality, containing c.10,000 inhabitants at its peak, an important hub on the military road between Friuli and Raetia, it was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century. From the 6th century Bergamo was the seat of one of the most important Lombard duchies of northern Italy, together with Brescia, Trento, after the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne, it became the seat of a county under one Auteramus. An important Lombardic hoard dating from the 6th to 7th centuries was found in the vicinity of the city in the 19th century and is now in the British Museum. From the 11th century onwards, Bergamo was an independent commune, the local Guelph and Ghibelline factions were the Colleoni and Suardi, respectively. Feuding between the two initially caused the family of Omodeo Tasso to flee north c, from 1264, Bergamo was intermittently under the rule of Milan. In 1331, it gave itself to John of Bohemia, after a short conquest by the Malatesta in 1407, in 1428 it fell under the control of the Venetian Republic, remaining part of it until 1797. Between 1797 and 1815, Bergamo and its territory were included in the political entities born in North Italy during the French, notably, the Venetians fortified the higher portion of the town. In 1815, it was assigned to the Austrian Empire, giuseppe Garibaldi freed it in 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, when Bergamo became part of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 20th century Bergamo became one of Italys most industrialized cities and it is also one of the few Italian cities that did not suffer major destruction during World War II. Bergamo experiences a subtropical climate characteristic of Northern Italy. While most of Italy is characterized by dry summers with little to no precipitation, Bergamo has the reverse trend, the two parts of the town are connected by funicular/cable car, roads, and foot-paths. Parking spaces are limited in the upper city. The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 16th century, Città Alta is an extremely expensive place to live in, with properties being sold for five to twelve thousand euro per square meter
29.
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
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The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham, the Grade II listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert Atkinson in the 1930s and opened in 1939 by Queen Mary. The layout of the museum is centred on a concert hall which is surrounded by lecture halls, offices and libraries on the ground floor. It was set up by Martha Constance Hattie Barber in memory of her husband Henry Barber, lady Barber was a descendant of the old Birmingham family of Bellowsmakers known as Onions and was an heiress in her own right. By his mid-thirties, the couple had retired but their connections with the city remained strong, in 1924, Henry Barber received a baronetcy for Political Services to Birmingham. Lady Barber decided to make a permanent contribution to the city in his memory, in 1932, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts was established, and was bequeathed to the University for the study and encouragement of art and music. Lady Barber died 4 months later leaving all of her assets to the trustees of the Institute and this money was used to expand the collection and fund the construction of a new building. The founding Director was Thomas Bodkin, who acquired the nucleus of the described by The Observer as the last great art collection of the twentieth century. Bodkins successor was Professor Ellis Waterhouse who served from 1952–70, the current Director of the Barber is Nicola Kalinsky, previously Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. She joined the Barber in the midst of its 80th anniversary programme as it planned for a redevelopment of its building. The Renaissance is represented by masterpieces by Giovanni Bellini, Veronese and Simone Martini, the collections of French impressionism and post-impressionism include artworks by Degas, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Gauguin. Among the British artists represented are Aubrey Beardsley, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Rossetti, there is also a fine collection of sculpture, Old Master prints and drawings, portrait miniatures and objets dart. Standing at the entrance is a statue of George I. The institute also has one of the worlds largest coin collections, especially of Roman and this outstanding collection was supplemented in 1967 with 15,000 coins, from Phillip Whitting and Geoffrey Haines. Many concerts take place at the Barber throughout the year, as well as a festival which is held in June. 860 items of the Shaw-Hellier collection are held at the Barbers music library, the Harvest Wagon - Thomas Gainsborough Symphony in White, No. 3, Whistler Barber Institute was Gallery of the Year in 2004 Official website Your Icons Highlights from the Barber Institute collection
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Birmingham
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Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England lying on the River Rea, a small river that runs through Birmingham. It is the largest and most populous British city outside London, the city is in the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2,440,986 at the 2011 census. Birminghams metropolitan area is the second most populous in the UK with a population of 3.8 million and this also makes Birmingham the 8th most populous metropolitan area in Europe. By 1791 it was being hailed as the first manufacturing town in the world, perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive demolition. Today Birminghams economy is dominated by the service sector and its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121. 1bn, and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, Birminghams sporting heritage can be felt worldwide, with the concept of the Football League and lawn tennis both originating from the city. Its most successful football club Aston Villa has won seven league titles, people from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the citys nickname of Brum. This originates from the citys name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the citys earlier names. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect, Birminghams early history is that of a remote and marginal area. The main centres of population, power and wealth in the pre-industrial English Midlands lay in the fertile and accessible river valleys of the Trent, the Severn and the Avon. The area of modern Birmingham lay in between, on the upland Birmingham Plateau and within the wooded and sparsely populated Forest of Arden. Birmingham as a settlement dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years, by 1700 Birminghams population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of goods to Birminghams economy was recognised as early as 1538. Equally significant was the emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment
31.
Transfiguration of Christ (Bellini)
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Transfiguration of Christ is the subject of two paintings by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, who finished them, respectively, in 1454-1460 and 1480. The earlier version is on display in the Museo Correr of Venice, for a long time this earlier work attributed to Mantegna, as attested by the spurious initials in the lower right corner. It shows the Gospels episode of Mount Tabor, with Elijah and Moses flanking Christ, below them are the disciples Peter, James and this version portrays again Christ in the moment in which he reveals his divine nature to his disciples, but with substantial differences. A comparison with the earlier Transfiguration shows Bellinis subsequent abandon of any Gothic painting heritage and this picture shows a more relaxed style, in which the figures are freely inserted within a warmer and more natural atmosphere. The work is signed IOANNES BELLINUS on a small chart hanging from the fence in the foreground, the leaves of the tree on the right, as well as the faces of James and Peter, are from a later restoration
32.
Dieric Bouts
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Dieric Bouts was an Early Netherlandish painter. Very little is known about Bouts early life, but he was influenced by Jan van Eyck and by Rogier van der Weyden. He is first documented in Leuven in 1457 and worked there until his death in 1475, Bouts was among the first northern painters to demonstrate the use of a single vanishing point. Bouts earliest work is the Triptych of the Virgins Life in the Prado, the Deposition Altarpiece in Granada probably also dates to this period, around 1450–60. The Louvre Lamentation is another early work, the Last Supper is the central panel of Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament, commissioned from Bouts by the Leuven Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament in 1464. All of the central rooms orthogonals lead to a vanishing point in the center of the mantelpiece above Christs head. However the small room has its own vanishing point. The Last Supper is the second dated work to display an understanding of Italian linear perspective, scholars also have noted that Boutss Last Supper was the first Flemish panel painting to depict the Last Supper. This contrasts strongly with other Last Supper depictions, which focused on Judass betrayal or on Christs comforting of John. Bouts also added to the complexity of this image by including four servants, although once identified as the artist himself and his two sons, these servants are most likely portraits of the confraternitys members responsible for commissioning the altarpiece. The Last Supper was the part of the altarpiece in the St. Peters Church. The Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament has four panels, two on each side. Because these were taken to the museums in Berlin and Munich in the 19th century, the reconstruction of the original altarpiece has been difficult. Today it is thought that the panel with Abraham and Melchizedek is above the Passover Feast on the wing, while the Gathering of the Manna is above Elijiah. All of these are typological precursors to the Last Supper in the central panel, after attaining the rank of city painter of Leuven in 1468, Bouts received a commission to paint two more works for the Town Hall. After this, he turned to the commission for the Justice Panels. He completed one panel and began a second, both depicting the life of the 11th-century Holy Roman Emperor Otto III and these pieces can now be seen in the Brussels museum. The remaining two Justice Panels were never completed, many of Bouts authentic works are small devotional panels, usually of the Virgin and Child
33.
Royal Chapel of Granada
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The Royal Chapel of Granada is a Isabelline style building located in the heart of Granada, next to the Cathedral. There are buried the Catholic Monarchs, their daughter Joanna of Castile the Mad and her husband, the Nasrid dynasty of Granada was the last Moorish dominion of Al-Andalus to fall in the Reconquista. It occurred in 1492 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, the Catholic Monarchs chosen as burial site, Granada, created by Royal decree dated September 13 of 1504, the Royal Chapel. It was built between 1505 and 1517 in Isabelline Gothic style and dedicated to St. John the Baptist, construction began in the year 1505 by Enrique Egas in Gothic. Juan Gil de Hontañón, Juan de Badajoz the Elder and Lorenzo Vázquez de Segovia were also involved in the construction. Privilege Charter of the Catholic Monarchs, First we ordain that in the Cathedral of the city of Granada it made an honest chapel in which are and this chapel will be called of the Kings under the invocation of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. The 16th century is the century of the fullness of the Royal Chapel, continues to flourish with the Emperor Carlos I. The temple is decorated, the institution is enhanced, the late 18th and early 19th century brings new embarrassments to the institution. They are linked to changes, economic difficulties and the profound change in church-state relations. The liberal regime ended with the Patronage regime and the foundations of the institution becomes a fully ecclesiastical entity. Some stability brought the Concordat of 1851 which was followed by a Royal decree of reorganization of the Royal Chapels, isabel II, who visited the Chapel in 1862, promotes a new organization. With the Restoration a new balance is achieved, is manifested from the years of the centenary of the capitulation of Granada. Are as a result of this period the first scientific publications on the Chapel, in the 20th century grows the historical and artistic, archival and musical interest in the Chapel. The capitulate museum was created by Royal decree in the year 1913, with the development of the tourism in Spain in the second half of 20th century it became one of the centers of tourist attraction of the city of Granada. Recently there has been a restoration with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía, the interior of the chapel follows the same model as the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes. It has side chapels, a nave in Gothic ribbed vault, the choir is to feet with centered arch and sotochoir. On the way to the presbytery it is created a luminous effect preconceived as idea to symbolize the sun, there is a hierarchy of the transept dedicated to mausoleum separated by a monumental decorated fence forged by Master Bartolomé. In the center of the transept the tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand by Domenico Francelli and Joanna, the graves are high and marked priority and almost at the height of the tabernacle
34.
The Entombment (Bouts)
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The Entombment is a glue-size painting on linen attributed to the Early Netherlandish painter Dieric Bouts. It shows a scene from the biblical entombment of Christ, and was completed between 1440 and 1455 as a wing panel for a large hinged polyptych altarpiece. The now-lost altarpiece is thought to have contained a central crucifixion scene flanked by four wing panel works half its height – two on either side – depicting scenes from the Life of Christ. The smaller panels would have been paired in a similar to Bouts 1464–67 Altar of the Holy Sacrament. The larger work was commissioned for export to Italy, possibly to a Venetian patron whose identity is lost. The Entombment was first recorded in a mid-19th century Milan inventory and has been in the National Gallery, the painting is an austere but affecting portrayal of sorrow and grief. It shows four female and three male mourners grieving over the body of Christ and they are, from left to right, Nicodemus, Mary Salome, Mary of Clopas, Mary, the mother of Jesus, John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea. It is one of the few surviving 15th-century paintings created using glue-size, the Entombment is in relatively poor condition compared to panel paintings of similar age. Its colours are now far duller than when it was painted, they would, however, always have appeared as less intense and brilliant than those of comparable oil or tempera paintings on panel. The painting is covered by accumulated layers of dirt and cannot be cleaned without damaging the surface. A strip at the top has been less affected than the rest because it was protected by a frame, the Entombment shows Christs body, wrapped in a white linen shroud and still wearing a crown of thorns, as it is lowered into a deep stone tomb. He is attended by seven mourners dressed in contemporary clothing, the background contains a wide landscape with a winding pathway and a broad river before a more distant vista of trees and hills. Bouts is considered a painter of landscapes, even in his portrait work where they are included as distant views seen through open windows. The vista in The Entombment is regarded as one of his finest, the Pharisee Nicodemus supports Christ as he is lowered, and can be identified by his similarity to Simon the Pharisee in another canvas attributed to Bouts, Christ in the House of Simon. The Virgin wears a headdress and a dark blue dress with a yellowish mantle. She is supported by John the Evangelist, who wears a red robe, dressed in green robes, Mary Salome stands to the Virgins left, wiping tears from her face with the fold of her white headdress. Mary of Clopas is behind them, holding a red cloth over her mouth, while the Magdalen is in the foreground at Christs feet, dressed in a heavily folded cloak. The man in the brown–green tabard at the feet of Christ is probably Joseph of Arimathea, the Entombment is painted on linen tightly woven with 20 to 22 vertical and between 19 and 22 horizontal threads per centimetre
35.
National Gallery
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The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found
36.
Petrus Christus
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Petrus Christus was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. Today, some 30 works are attributed to him. Christus was a figure for centuries, his importance not established until the work of modern art historians. Giorgio Vasari barely mentions him in his biographies of painters, written in the Renaissance, in the early to mid-nineteenth century, Gustav Waagen and Johann David Passavant were important in establishing Christuss biographical details and in attributing works to him. Christus was born in Baarle, near Antwerp and Breda, long considered a student of and successor to Jan van Eyck, his paintings have sometimes been confused with those of van Eyck. At the death of van Eyck in 1441, it is thought that Christus took over his masters workshop, had he been an active pupil in van Eycks Bruges workshop in 1441, he would have received his citizenship automatically after the customary period of one year and one day. Christus may have been van Eycks successor in the Bruges school, a document testifying to the presence of a Piero da Bruggia in Milan may suggest that he visited that city at the same time as Antonello, and the two artists may even have met. It would also explain how Italian painters learned about oil painting, Antonello, along with Giovanni Bellini, was one of the first Italian painters to use oil paint like his Netherlandish contemporaries. And Christus Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Francis and Jerome in Frankfurt, a late work, the reserved Portrait of a Young Girl belongs among the masterworks of Early Netherlandish painting, marking a new development in Netherlandish portraiture. It no longer shows the sitter in front of a neutral background, Christus had already perfected this format in his two portraits of 1446. Christus died in Bruges in 1475 or 1476, Hans Memling succeeded him as the next great painter in Bruges. Christus produced at least six signed and dated works, which form the basis for any other attributions to him and these are, the Portrait of Edward Grymeston, the Portrait of a Carthusian, the so-called St. In addition, a pair of panels in the Groeningemuseum in Bruges bears a date of 1452, but its authenticity is suspect. Oclc. org, 15th to 18th century European paintings, France, Central Europe, the Netherlands, Spain,2 Painting by or after Petrus Christus at the Art UK site
37.
Antonio da Fabriano
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Antonio da Fabriano was an Italian painter, active in the Region of Marche. The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, a Coronation of the Virgin in the Casa Morichi is attributed to him, and also a St Jerome, with the date 1451, in the Fornari Gallery at Fabriano, is now in the Walters Art Gallery. He was an assistant of Gentile da Fabriano. He is suspected to be a Antonellus de Fabriano living in Genoa in 1447-1448, in Genoa, he may have encountered a work of St Jerome by Jan van Eyck. A fresco of St Bernardino at the church of San Francesco at Gualdo Tadino in attributed to Antonio, documentation notes that in 1451 Antonio was paid for gilding candlesticks for Fabriano Cathedral
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Antonello da Messina
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His work shows strong influences from Early Netherlandish painting although there is no documentary evidence that he ever travelled beyond Italy. Giorgio Vasari credited him with the introduction of oil painting into Italy, unusually for a south Italian artist of the Renaissance, his work proved influential on painters in northern Italy, especially in Venice. Antonello was born at Messina around 1429–1431, to Giovanni de Antonio Mazonus and this account of his training is accepted by most art historians. Antonello returned to Messina from Naples during the 1450s, in around 1455 he painted the so-called Sibiu Crucifixion, inspired by Flemish treatments of the subject, which is now in the Muzeul de Artǎ in Bucharest. A Crucifixion in the Royal Museum of Antwerp dates from the same period, in his biography of the artist, Giorgio Vasari remarked that Antonello saw an oil painting by Jan Van Eyck belonging to King Alfonso V of Aragon at Naples. Another theory, supported only by vague documentary evidence, suggests that in 1456 Antonello visited Milan, however, neither is known for certain to have been in Milan at the time. Between the years of 1456 and 1457, Antonello proved himself to be a painter in Messina. He also shared his home with Paolo di Ciacio, a student from Calabria, at this date, he was already married, and his son Jacobello had been born. In 1460, his father is mentioned leasing a brigantine to bring back Antonello, also from around 1460 are two small panels depicting Abraham Served by the Angels and St. Jerome Penitent now in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria. In 1461 Antonellos younger brother Giordano entered his workshop, signing a three-year contract, in that year Antonello painted a Madonna with Child for the Messinese nobleman Giovanni Mirulla, now lost. Historians believe that Antonello painted his first portraits in the late 1460s, john Pope-Hennessy described him as the first Italian painter for whom the individual portrait was an art form in its own right. In 1474, he painted the Annunciation, now in Syracuse, Antonello went to Venice in 1475 and remained there until the fall of 1476. His works of this begin to show a greater attention to the human figure. His most famous pictures from this include the Condottiero, the San Cassiano Altarpiece. While in Venice he was offered, but did not accept, Antonello had returned to Sicily by September 1476. Works from near the end of his include the famous Virgin Annunciate, now in the Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo. He died at Messina in 1479 and his testament dates from February of that year, and he is documented as no longer alive two months later. Some of his last works remained unfinished, but were completed by his son Jacobello, Antonellos style is remarkable for its union of Italian simplicity with Flemish concern for detail
39.
Crucifixion (Antonello da Messina)
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The Crucifixion is the subject of three different paintings by the Italian Renaissance master Antonello da Messina, the first two were completed around 1454/1455, the third in 1475. They are housed in the Brukenthal National Museum, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp and in the National Gallery, an early work appearing to be influenced by the Flemish school, the Sibiu Crucifixion was formerly attributed to an unknown 14th century German painter. A symbolic view of Messina is depicted in the background, probably an allusion to Jerusalem as requested by the unknown client, the Antwerp Crucifixion represents Christ crucified between two evil-doers, with Mary and John the Evangelist seated on the ground. The Italian scholar Roberto Longhi asserted that the part was added several years later. Belonging to a phase, the London Crucifixion is one of the few paintings signed and dated by Antonello. The geometrical composition is divided in two parts by the cross and the lake in the background, with the Virgin on the left, barbera, K, ed. Antonello da Messina, Sicilys Renaissance master. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
40.
Andrea del Castagno
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Andrea del Castagno was an Italian painter from Florence, influenced chiefly by Tommaso Masaccio and Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes in SantApollonia in Florence and the equestrian monument of Niccolò da Tolentino in the Cathedral in Florence. He in turn influenced the Ferrarese school of Cosmè Tura, Francesco del Cossa, Andrea del Castagno was born at Castagno, a village near Monte Falterona, not far from Florence. During the war between Florence and Milan, he lived in Corella, returning to his home after its end, in 1440 he moved to Florence under the protection of Bernadetto de Medici. Here he painted the portraits of the citizens hanged after the Battle of Anghiari on the facade of the Palazzo del Podestà, little is known about his formation, though it has been hypothised that he apprenticed under Fra Filippo Lippi and Paolo Uccello. In 1440–1441 he executed the fresco of Crucifixion and Saints in the Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova, whose perspective-oriented construction, in 1442 he was in Venice where he executed frescoes in the San Tarasio Chapel of the church of San Zaccaria. Later he also worked in St Marks Basilica, leaving a fresco of Death of the Virgin, back in Florence, he designed a stained window with Deposition for the local Cathedral. On May 30,1445 he became a member of the Guild of the Medicians, from the same year is the fresco of Madonna with Child and Santi in the Contini Bonacossi Collection. This combination of scenes is not known to have been represented before and he also painted a lunette in the convents cloister, depicting a Pietà. Many important Florentine families had daughters in the convent at SantApollonia, the Last Supper displays Andrea del Castagnos talents at their best. The detail and naturalism of this fresco portray the ways in which he departed from earlier artistic styles, in 1449–1450 he painted the Assumption with Saints Julian and Miniato for the main altar of the church of San Miniato fra le Torri in Florence. In the same years he collaborated with Filippo Carducci to paint a series of Illustrious People for the Villa Carducci at Legnaia and these include Pippo Spano, Farinata degli Uberti, Niccolò Acciaioli, Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, the Cumaean Sibyl, Esther and Tomiri. Also from around 1450 is the Crucifixion in London, as well as the David with Goliaths Head, between January 1451 and September 1453 he completed the frescoes with Scenes of the Life of the Virgin left unfinished by Domenico Veneziano in the Florentine church of SantEgidio, Florence. In October Filippo Carducci commissioned him to paint frescoes for his villa at Soffiano, of today an Eve. In 1455 Andrea del Castagno worked in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, also in those years is attributed a Crucifixion for St. Apollonia. In 1456 he executed in the Florentine Cathedral the fresco of the Equestrian Statue of Niccolò da Tolentino, from the series of Illustrious People for the Villa Carducci Assumption of the Virgin between San Miniato and St. Julian, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin Castagno, Andrea. Andrea del Castagno, complete edition with a critical catalogue, Andrea del Castagno, complete edition with a critical catalogue. Ithaca, N. Y, Cornell University Press,1980, Andrea del Castagno and his patrons
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Assumption of the Virgin (Andrea del Castagno)
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The Assumption of the Virgin between St. Miniato and St. Julian is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance master Andrea del Castagno, executed around 1449-1450. It is now housed in the Gemäldegalerie of Berlin, falladanzi kept a notebook in which he noted that he paid maestro Andrea, pintore 104 lire for an altarpiece for the main altar of the church. The church was demolished around 1888, and its heritage was dispersed, the painting portrays Mary in a wide blue cloak, while she is lifted up from a sepulchre depicted in perspective. The cloak, as typical in Andrea del Castagno, is painted with a use of chiaroscuro. The sepulchre contains roses, a flower usually associated with the Virgin and she is carried within a brilliant mandorla by three angels. At Marys sides, both with a red aureola, are St. Julian and St. Minias of Florence, while the Virgin is portrayed in a realistic posture, the two saints have a more mystic and static appearance. Both men are dressed in the most expensive of contemporary costumes. Not only the damask fabrics, but also the red color indicate the costliness of their garments. The background was painted in gold, with an effect in correspondence of the saints aureolas. Paolo Uccello, Domenico Veneziano, Andrea del Castagno
