Tag: 131R

Survey 3: Baroque – Anthony van Dyck (1599 – 1641)

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Lord John Stuart and Lord Bernard Stuart, about 1638

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish painter born in 1599. He studied under Peter Paul Rubens, and was considered his greatest pupil. He was best known for his portraits of nobility. He worked for Charles I on and off for a number of years and was titled “principalle Paynter in ordinary of their Majesties”. Van Dyck was considered precocious, and he was eager to visit different places and work with different patrons. He even left the palace of Charles I where he earned £100 a year (equivalent to about $28,139.34 USD) in order to go work in Genoa, Antwerp, and Italy. Charles I increased the salary to £200 a year in 1632, yet Van Dyck still left again just a year later. Some might consider him flighty or restless because he never stayed in one place for long. However, Van Dyck painted over five hundred portraits through out his career- dying at only 42 years old. This is a testament to his precocious character because he was clearly focused on his work if he was able to finish so many pieces in his short lifetime.

Van Dyck’s portraits are rendered with great detail, and they show nobility in dignified and elegant fashions. I was drawn to his piece Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart because of his portrayal of the two lords. Lord John Stuart (right) looks into the distance rather than at the viewer, giving him an air of importance and sophistication. Lord Bernard Stuart (left) is posed in a pompous way, and his satin clothing is beautifully rendered to give the lord an elegant appearance. The simple background allows the focus to stay on the two Lords and makes them feel important.

The Balbi Children, about 1625-7
Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, about 1637-8
Prince Charles Louis, Count Palatine, about 1637
The Emperor Theodosius is forbidden by Saint Ambrose to enter Milan Cathedral, about 1619-20
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Survey 2: High Renaissance and Mannerism – Hans Holbein (1547 – 1619)

Jason Low1 Comment
Georg Gisze, a merchant in London, 1532

Hans Holbein was born in Augsburg, Germany. He took the best aspects of northern and Italian art and made the compositions of his paintings perfect examples of harmony. He made many portraits because artists at the time needed new ways to get work as the Reformation had caused a decline in religious paintings. He was made the Court Painter of Henry VIII and lived in England for two years to paint portraits of the royal household, as he was well known for them. Holbein’s portraits are seen as simple and nothing is done to make them exciting or dramatic, but the rendering of the scene was clearly done with extreme care and accuracy. The objects that surround the subjects of Holbein’s portraits tell a story about their personality and interests. While working as Court Painter, Holbein also designed a variety of items from clothing buttons to weapons.

Holbein’s portraits remind me of the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” because his portraits are simple but give information about their subjects without being overwhelming or over complicated. He paid special attention to the clothing his subject wore, and included plants and animals as part of the scene. The variety of objects in the scene make me wonder how they relate to the subject Holbein has painted. I enjoy the detailed clothing and the textures he achieved in his work.

Anne of Cleves, 1539
Sir Brian Tuke, c. 1527/1528 or c. 1532/1534
Edward VI as a Child, 1538
Robert Cheseman, 1533

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Survey 1: Late Gothic and Renaissance- Paolo Uccello (1397 – 1475)

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The Battle of San Romano, 1438-1440

Paolo Uccello, whose real name was Paolo Di Dono, was born on June 15th, 1397 in Pratovecchio, Italy. He was was a painter and mathematician who studied as a member of the workshop of the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. While most of his early work had been in the Gothic style, following naturalistic, curved lines, his experience with sculpture under Ghiberti allowed him to think in three-dimensional forms while working on two-dimensional paintings. Uccello used his experience in mathematics and applied it to art in order to champion the use of perspective in Renaissance art.

Uccello’s compositions utilize perspective to give his paintings depth and give more weight to each scene. The objects in his paintings each have their own space that they occupy rather than simply laying flat in front of a background. This weight makes the interactions of the different subjects feel more dynamic. The Hunt in the Forest, for example, uses the hunting dogs to show the depth of the forest, and the size of these dogs deepens the forest, giving it a more vast look. The fallen logs point deeper into the forest, and guide the viewer’s eyes towards the center of the painting, and towards their common vanishing point. In The Battle of San Romano, the fallen knights show the depth of the battlefield, and gives each cavalry a space to occupy.

The Crucifixion, mid 1450’s
Saint George Slaying the Dragon, 1430
The Hunt in the Forest, 1465-1470
The Annunciation, early 1420s

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