Mia Canderan

Lithographic Printing

From 1750-1850, there were many advancements in tools and technology. Especially in printing. In Germany, 1796, a new way of printing was invented which was called Lithographic printing. Alois Senefelder created this way of printing, however, he kept it a secret until 1818. He actually discovered this technique accidentally by writing his script in greasy crayon. When he finally revealed his discovery of lithography, it was through his book called “Vollständiges Lehrbuch der Steindruckerey (A Complete Course of Lithography).”  This allowed people to see what Lithography was all about. 

Lithographic Printing is a process where an image is applied to a surface treated in a greasy medium. For the surface, Senefelder initially used porous Bavarian limestone. Today, aluminum is usually used in this process. The image is then applied with a greasy ink, such as crayons, tusche, pencils, synthetic materials, etc.  Nitric acid and gum arabic are then put on it to create areas that repel the ink, to allow for areas not to be printed. A roller is then rolled over the image to transfer the ink onto paper. 

This printing technique out shined intaglio, as it allowed for more tones and mark making to be printed. It also made printing colour easier because it allowed you to put the colour right on the sheet. I believe it must have been tedious work to individually colour pages, so it is good that this way of printing was discovered. With lithograph printing, you could print as many times as wished for, as one limestone could be used an almost unlimited amount of times.  

It was useful to many people including portraitists and illustrators so that they could multiply their drawings. It also increased commercial work  because it let people print posters and illustrations for people to see advertised. Artists enjoyed utilizing this way of printing. Romantic painters made use of the tone in the printings to create an effect similar to charcoal. This printing process is still used today and continues to quickly produce high detail work that is good quality. 

Works cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Lithography.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/technology/lithography.

Ives, Colta. “Lithography in the Nineteenth Century.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lith/hd_lith.htm.

Tate. “Lithography – Art Term.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/l/lithography.

Images Cited

Praefcke, Andreas. “Lithography Stone Princeton Motif.” File:Lithography Stone Princeton Motif.jpg, Wikimedia Commons, Princeton, NJ, June 2007, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithography_stone_Princeton_motif.jpg.

Chodowiecki, Daniel. “Chodowiecki Basedow Tafel.” Lithography, Wikipedia, 1770, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithography.

“Lithography Stone and Mirror Image Print of a Map of Munich.” Lithography, Wikipedia, 31 Dec. 2005, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithography.

It all started with an apple

Many scientific discoveries were found around the 17th century. I suppose that is why this time is called the scientific revolution. One of the most influential people during the scientific revolution was Sir Isaac Newton. He was an English physicist and a mathematician who truly made an impact and many contributions on the future with his discoveries. 

He made many discoveries in mechanics, mathematics as in calculus, optics, including his discovery of how we can see colour through white light. He believed that “all of the phenomena of the Universe could be explained by particles and force.” Out of his many findings, his most profound discovery that he made was the law of gravity. 

It all started with an apple. It was believed at one point that Newton was walking under a tree and an apple fell on his head, which knocked the idea into him. This, however, was not the case. He did see an apple fall from a tree, though, and he wondered why it fell to the ground and not up to the sky. If the law of gravity didn’t exist yet today, I’m sure I would ponder the same question. 

He eventually realized that perhaps the moon and the falling apple were connected to the same force.  He called this force Gravity. The way he explained it was this: “Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.” The mathematical equation he created for this was: F_G = Gm₁m₂/r² .  This equation allows us to calculate the motion caused by gravity.

When the law of gravity was discovered, the universe made a lot more sense. His realization made a vast impact on the world. An example of how it did so is with Johannes Kepler’s law of planetary motion. Newton’s discovery of gravity proved Kelper’s law to be true. There is an important link between the motion by which the planets move around the sun and the way objects fall to the earth. 

It is no doubt that Newton was an important contributor to the scientific revolution. I couldn’t imagine a world when discoveries like gravity weren’t even known of yet. There would have been so much to learn. It is important that we have people like Newton in our history in order to shape and advance our future.

Works Cited

Jones, Andrew Zimmerman. “What You Need to Know About Gravity.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 3 July 2019, www.thoughtco.com/newtons-law-of-gravity-2698878.

Ultimate Visual Dictionary of Science. Stoddart, 1998.

Westfall, Richard S. “Isaac Newton.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-Newton.

Images Cited

“How Does Newton Explain Planetary Motion?” How Does Newton Explain Planetary Motion?, Hearst Seattle Media, LLC, 2019, education.seattlepi.com/newton-explain-planetary-motion-6264.html.

“Isaac Newton: Scientist, Astronomer – and Master of the Royal Mint.” Isaac Newton: Scientist, Astronomer – and Master of the Royal Mint, historycollection.co/isaac-newton-scientist-astronomer-master-royal-mint/. 

“Newton’s Apple.” Newton’s Apple, archive.briankoberlein.com/2014/06/13/newtons-apple/index.html.

Jan Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer was known as one of the greatest dutch masters. He was an artist who created some of the most beloved paintings that exist today around the world. 

In his life, only 36 paintings have been discovered to be painted by him, as he painted carefully and slowly. Before he developed his own style, he was believed to be influenced by Caravaggio, in his incorporation of mythology and religion. 

Unlike other artists during the Baroque period, he mostly painted simple scenes of ordinary life. The simplicity, however, let him achieve some of the greatest masterpieces of all time. 

One of which is “The kitchen maid,” which was painted with the most beautiful rendering of the still life and figure in the scene. It is incredible how he managed to achieve this realism and detail with how soft and delicate the painting is.

His most well known masterpieces was “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” This painting is my personal favourite of his, as it is truly captivating and has a certain glow about it. 

 Vermeer’s was not well known in his community when he was alive, however, he will remain one of the greatest dutch painters of all time.   

Taken from: https://www.biography.com/artist/jan-vermeer, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Girl-with-a-Pearl-Earring-by-Vermeer, and The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich

Gothic Architecture in France

In class we learned about God to Gutenburg. I thought it was fascinating how different typefaces were developed from the beginning. In addition I was interested as to how people went from writing in uppercase letters to using half uncial that allowed for easier legibility and its application to print writings. 

  Gothic architecture was a style that was exhibited all over Europe. However,  France dominated architecture during this time between the 5th and 15th century. It truly flourished during the middle ages. In fact, some of the most monumental buildings were created in the Gothic style. An example of this would be The Cathedral of  Notre-Dame. This cathedral is known as one of the three main examples of gothic architecture in France due to its innovations, sculptural elements, and stained glass windows- which we will explore more later. 

Gothic architecture can be recognized by the use of pointed arches, rib vaults, large windows, and flying buttresses.

These characteristics were most popular among cathedrals and churches. The buildings were also engineered to be very large. These characteristics of gothic architecture actually allowed these buildings to be the height that they are, while maintaining as much natural light as possible. Specifically in France, Gothic buildings can be distinguished than that of other countries due to one characteristic- their vertical and tall nature. The height of these buildings is believed to be symbolic of heaven. Make sure to look out for that on your next trip to France!

Windows were very important for this type of architecture. The style Rayonnant emerged in the 13th century, which increased Frances prevalence in gothic architecture. During the time of the Rayonnant building style, architects started paying more attention to decoration rather than size.

Windows were the main additive to this. The rose window (see image), which is a circular and decorative stained glass window that uses tracery to make it look like a rose. Although these windows were a beautiful decoration that let in light and colour, they were practical too. Due to the pointed arches, the walls could not hold up the building on their own. This allowed the mesmerizing stained glass windows to act as a support and embellishment within the arch.

In conclusion, these pointed arches work in favour of the gothic cathedrals and churches, as the stained glass windows give the most beautiful effect both on the interior and exterior of the buildings. Despite the fact that the rose windows are considered no more than an addition to grand cathedrals, its intricacy and colour makes it the centrepiece of gothic architecture.

Works Cited

Craven, Jackie. “Medieval Churches and Synagogues, Gothic Style.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 3 July 2019, www.thoughtco.com/what-is-gothic-architecture-177720.

Kimutai, Gilbert. “Examples and Characteristics of Gothic Architecture.” WorldAtlas, 29 May 2017, www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-gothic-architecture.html.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Chartres Cathedral.” Encyclopædia Britannica, EncyclopædiaBritannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Chartres-Cathedral.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Gothic Architecture.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-architecture.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Rayonnant Style.” Encyclopædia Britannica, EncyclopædiaBritannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/art/Rayonnant-style.

Images Cited

“Rose Window.” Wikipedia, Wikipedia , Strasbourg Cathedral, 21 Aug. 2008, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_window.

“Examples And Characteristics Of Gothic Architecture.” Examples And Characteristics Of Gothic Architecture, Worldatlas, www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-gothic-architecture.html.

“Nave of Notre-Dame De Paris.” Notre-Dame De Paris, Wikipedia, Paris, 22 June 2014, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris.

Hieronymus Bosch

Hieronymus Bosch was a painter from the Netherlands who lived from 1450-1516. He was known as “art’s first visionary genius”. Little was discovered about him, however, we do know that he was an independent master of painting compositions that no human had seen before.  He often painted religious themed landscapes filled with many interesting subjects and symbolic elements. He depicted mankind and the consequences of sinning in his work by illustrating unsettling pictures of hell and demons. No person had ever seen this visual representation between heaven and hell in the way that Bosch depicted it. The 3 paintings below are some of his major works that are all triptychs representing similar ideas with heaven on the left wing and hell on the right.

 His works often consist of exquisite detail and striking compositions. His paintings seem incredibly surreal as for his attention to detail. He was, in fact, considered to be the first modern surrealist due to his bizarre depictions of reality.

Bosch experienced some success during his life, however, he made a larger impact after his death. King Philip II of Spain started collecting his work and became a loyal fan. The paintings reminded him to stay on a righteous path.

Taken from: https://www.biography.com/artist/hieronymus-bosch, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bosch-hieronymus/, and The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich

What if you had to dress according to your social status? The Pharaoh controlled fashion in Ancient Egypt. The pharaoh had the highest authority, which was equivalent to that of God. People were highly dependent on the class system, therefore Ancient Egyptians were automatically placed into a hierarchy at birth. The clothing that they wore reflected their status in the class system. 

Headdresses were an important part of differentiating the people in the class system. Upper-class headwear was much more extravagant than that of the lower-class. Members of the upper-class usually wore heavy wigs to protect their heads from the hot Egyptian sun, much like a hat. However, they would also wear ornamental hats known as headdresses, which represented their rank in the class system. These highly decorated hats were a clear indication of a person of high rank.

Headdresses had multiple symbolic elements. The Queens and Pharaohs would wear headdresses made from gold bands that met in the front to form a cobra head. This represented royalty. Another example of a symbolic crown was called the pschent. It represented the old kingdoms of Egypt. Many other crowns represented authority, or power in the military.

Evidence collected from Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings revealed that there were also ceremonial headdresses, which were decorated with intricate designs. Imagine you were a ruler of Egypt and had to carry an awkward and heavy piece of gold on your head for the ceremony. The Pharaohs wore these only on unique occasions. They were much too large, heavy and uncomfortable to be worn otherwise. 

Fashion inevitably changes over time. Perhaps these fashion statements were not in style for centuries after, but the Ancient Egyptians did continue to wear the earliest styles for special occasions in order to celebrate their past. One day in the far future, maybe people will be wearing baseball caps to special occasions in order to remember the 21^st century.

Works Cited

Anawalt, Patricia Rieff. The Worldwide History of Dress. Thames & Hudson, 2007. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02755a&AN=cul.b231239&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Black, J.Anderson, and Madge Garland. A History of Fashion. Morrow, 1975. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02755a&AN=cul.b117188&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Cosgrave, Bronwyn. The Complete History of Costume & Fashion : From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day. Checkmark Books, 2000. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat02755a&AN=cul.b209157&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Images Cited

Avent, Camille. “FASHION HISTORY.” FASHION HISTORY, 2016, www.fashionhistory2016.blogspot.com/2016/01/ancient-egypt-early-costumes.html.

Eidiejus, Stasys. “Leaf.” Leaf, www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-make-ancient-egyptian-headdresses/.

“Headdresses.” Period Paper, www.periodpaper.com/products/1854-woodcut-ancient-egyptian-gold-beard-wigs-royal-headdress-archaeology-attire-138459-xgp5-119.

Simone Martini was an influential Italian artist who lived from 1284-1344. Although he was not as impactful as Duccio, he did an incredible job of popularizing Sienese paintings after him.

He impacted many, for example the local artists who imitated him in their paintings. It is assumed that Martini learned how to paint from the colour and figure styles that Duccio initially had painted with.

Comparing the two artist’s work, I notice that the faces and figures are very similar looking; however, Martini has added decorative lines and an extra elegance and beauty to his art.

His paintings from Siena were a very important aspect of Late Gothic artworks, as the Sienese people knew Martini to have painted the first nonreligious Sienese painting, which was a portrait of Guidoriccio da Fogliano on a horse.

It is no doubt that Martini created a number of iconic artworks and influenced many.

Taken from: http://travelingintuscany.com/art/simonemartini.htm and https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simone-Martini