#early Renaissance

[ad-crucem]

The Dance of the Beatified

Detail from The Last Judgement by Fra Angelico (c. 1425)

[maertyrer]

Sano di Pietro Saint Donatus chastising the dragon

Tempera on poplar panel, 21.8 x 36 cm, around 1460

[pmamtraveller]

THE ARNOLFINI PORTRAIT /1434/ JAN VAN EYCK

Van Eyck uses a unique orthogonal perspective, rich colors, and enlivens the piece with many rich details. Notice the convex mirror painted in the background that reflects the back of the couple, as well as several other people witnessing the wedding. Also, take note of the dog in the foreground, the bed in the rear right, and the chandelier overhead.

This is thought to be a dual portrait of the affluent Italian trader, Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini, alongside his spouse. The youthful pair are shown within their residence in Bruges, Belgium, which was part of Flanders at the time. Van Eyck had recently relocated to Bruges in 1429 and would reside and work there for the remainder of his life.

While numerous contemporary observers have suggested that the bride appears to be expectant, scholars have noted that this style of gown was fashionable then, as it symbolized virtue and fertility. The gown, combined with the hand resting on the stomach, might be misleading to those interpreting it through a modern perspective.

Art historians consider this one of the earliest paintings of ordinary people in a domestic setting. Van Eyck inscribed “Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434 (Jan van Eyck was here. 1434)” above the mirror. This signature, on the back wall, suggests the artwork may document a marriage contract with a witness present. Van Eyck was also among the first to sign his work.

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Hugo van der Goes, St. George and the Dragon, ca. 1470 - 1482, ink/paper (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.)

That poor "dragon" looks more like a large dog in a Halloween costume.

[artsandculture]

The Birth of Venus (1483-1485) 🎨 Sandro Botticelli 🏛️ Uffizi Gallery 📍 Florence, Italy

The painting was commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’Medici, a cousin of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The theme was probably suggested by the humanist Poliziano. It depicts Venus born from the sea foam, blown by the west wind, Zephyr, and the nymph, Chloris, towards one of the Horai, who prepares to dress her with a flowered mantle.

This universal icon of Western painting was probably painted around 1484 for the villa of Castello owned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de 'Medici. Giorgio Vasari saw the work there in the mid-sixteenth century – along with Botticelli’s other well-known Primavera – and described it precisely as "showing the Birth of Venus." The old idea that the two Botticelli masterpieces were created for the same occasion, in spite of their substantial technical and stylistic diversity, is no longer accepted. However, rather than a birth, what we see is the goddess landing on the shore of her homeland, the island of Cyprus, or on Kithera. The theme, which can be traced back to Homer and to Ovid’s Metamophoses, was also celebrated by the great humanist Agnolo Poliziano in the poetic verses of his Stanze. The Venus of the Uffizi is of the “Venus pudica” type, whose right breast is covered by her right hand and billowing long blond hair partially shrouds her body. The goddess stands upright on a shell as she is driven towards the shore by the breeze of Zephyrus, a wind god, who is holding the nymph, Chloris. On the right is the Hora of springtime, who waits to greet Venus ashore with a cloak covered in pink flowers.

The seascape, stunning for its metaphysical tone and almost unreal quality, is illuminated by a very soft, delicate light. Like Botticelli’s other masterpiece, Pallas and the Centaur, the Birth of Venus is painted on canvas - fairly unusual for its time - using a technique of thin tempera, based on the use of diluted egg yolk, which lends itself particularly well to give the painting that aspect of extraordinary transparency, which brings to mind the pictorial quality of a fresco. The figure recalls classical sculpture and is very similar to the famous Medici Venus found in the Uffizi, which the artist certainly knew. The real meaning of this dreamlike vision is still under scholarly debate and investigation but is undoubtedly linked with the Neo-Platonic philosophy, widely cultivated in the Medici court.

Like the Primavera, the Birth of Venus is also associated with the concept of Humanitas,or virtuous Humanity, a theory developed by Marsilio Ficino in a letter to the young Lorenzo. According to the interpretation by Ernst Gombrich, the work depicts the symbolic fusion of Spirit and Matter, the harmonious interaction of Idea and Nature. Nevertheless, the interpretations of this painting of extraordinary visual impact are numerous and diverse. The divine ethereal figure has been viewed as an allegorical representation of Humanitas upon her arrival to Florence, while the nymph holding out the cloak of flowers for the goddess may perhaps be identified as Flora, the same depicted in this masterpiece’s “twin”, the Primavera, where she may be seen instead as the personification of the city of Florence. From this work emerges clear evidence of Botticell’s strive to reach perfection of form that could rival with classical antiquity. It is for this reason that the humanist Ugolino Verino in his work Epigrammata, presented in 1485 to the King of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus, likened the Florentine painter to the legendary Apelles of Ancient Greece.

[dark-longings]

Probable self-portrait of Sandro Botticelli, in his Adorazione dei Magi.

[my-sacred-art]

Alice Eve (English, born Feb. 6, 1982)

Saint Sebastian and a Bishop Saint, between 1480 and 1495. Master of the Virgo inter Virgines (Netherlandish, active in Delft, circa 1483-1498).

[Outer] Modern fabric with traditional fleur-des-lys decoration. (Pinterest).

Wikmedia: The ethereal but naively drawn figures set against a landscape of flattened mounds are typical of the haunting compositions of this master, identified only through a group of works related to a painting of the Virgo inter Virgines (Virgin among Virgins) now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The small town of Delft, where woodcuts of his designs were published and where he is presumed to have worked, was far from the sophisticated cities to the south, such as Bruges and Ghent. Elongated panels, such as this one, typically functioned as the wings of an altarpiece. The presence of a coat of arms with the "fleur-de-lys" (lily) of France suggests that the altarpiece may have been commissioned for someone connected with the French royal court.

[lesser-known-composers]

Nicolas Grenon ( c. 1375 – 1456) - La Plus Belle Et Doulce Figure

Triste Plaisir :

Lena Susanne Norin - Alto, Randall Cook - Viola d'arco, Fidel Susanne Ansorg Fidel, - Rebec

[lionofchaeronea]

The Assumption of the Virgin, Bernardo Daddi, ca. 1337-39

[7pleiades7]

Madonna of Humility (c. 1419) by Fra Angelico (Italian, c. 1395-1455), tempera on wood panel, 102 x 58 cm, National Museum of San Matteo, Pisa

[poetessinthepit]

Me on a date: what do you think happened to the princes in the tower after the summer of 1483?

[eucanthos]

Giovanni di Franco di Piero (Firenze, 1425 - 1498)

Detail from Madonna and Child (central panel of a triptych), 1454-59. Tempera on wood, 105 x 59 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Formerly the panels were attributed to the Florentine painter Giovanni di Francesco del Cervelliera. Now is believed that Giovanni di Francesco (Franco) di Piero did it, pupil of Andrea del Castagno

The work seems to be the peak of Giovanni di Franco's evolution, who is one of the main exponents of a Florentine movement known as the "painters of light".

True Early Renaissance images in Florence date from 1401, the first year of the century known as Quattrocento

https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/giovanni/frances1/virgin_ci.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentine_painting#

[pmamtraveller]

PALLAS AND THE CENTAUR /1482/ by SANDRO BOTTICELLI

It is a painting of the dramatic interaction between Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, with a centaur—a representation of chaos and barbarism. Here, Pallas Athena holds the centaur by his hair to indicate her dominance over his feral instincts.

The centaur carrying a bow may appear aggressive, representing primal urges and sensuality. Pallas is shown with a halberd, possibly pointing to her warrior side; she radiates wisdom and chastity. The dynamism of the two highlights the theme of rationality triumphing over base desires.

On Pallas' garment, a version of the three-ring insignia of the Medici house appears, hence indicating that the work was quite likely commissioned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, possibly as a wedding gift to his marriage in 1482. The composition is dated right after Botticelli's return from Rome, where he contributed to the Sistine Chapel.

There has always been a dispute over who the female figure is, often named as the goddess of wisdom, Pallas Athena, while other interpretations argue that she could also be Camilla, the virgin warrior from Virgil's Aeneid, hence the multifaceted nature of Botticelli's work. What do you think?

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Francesco del Cossa, Santa Lucia (St. Lucy), ca. 1473/1474, tempera/panel (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.)

St. Lucy holds a second set of her own eyes, the symbol of her protection of eyesight.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

—

Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (c. 1445 – 17 May 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli or simply Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance.

[studentessamatta]

La terra di Piero: The Artistic Legacy of Piero della Francesca in Arezzo