High Renaissance & Mannerism: Hieronymus Bosch

Self Portrait

There is a lot we don’t know about Bosch. He did not leave any diaries, journals or record of information about himself. We can only estimate when he was born and died. He didn’t date his paintings. There is even some mystery to which paintings can be accredited to him.

What we do know is that his father, grandfather and uncles were all painters, so it is assumed that one of them taught Bosch to paint. We can also determine that he was well educated based on the knowledge he displays in his paintings.

The Last Judgement
The Harrowing of Hell

In his time, religion was still a major theme in painting. Artists stuck to painting reality & truth and venturing into the unknown or imaginary was not yet a thing; until Bosch came along.

The theme of religion was still present and heavily influential in Bosch’s paintings, but he took his own interpretation and imagination into it. Filled with symbolism, absurdity, and portrayals of the inner world and subconscious, his paintings were, to say it simply: different. Hieronymus Bosch is considered a revolutionary in his creation of beings and realms unknown to humans.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Bosch was a popular artist throughout Europe and received many commissions. Many people enjoyed and imitated his work. His fame definitely began during or very shortly after his lifetime.

His most famous painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, has influenced many modern artists, designers and musicians. There have been songs, fashion collections and theatre/dance productions inspired by the piece.

Dr. Martens (a popular boot brand) released a collection in 2014 based on Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bosch-hieronymus/life-and-legacy/#biography_header

http://mentalfloss.com/article/83945/8-bizarre-facts-about-hieronymous-bosch

Survey 2: None of This Matters If You’re Colour Blind

Pigments are powdered forms of colour that can be suspended in various mediums and then be applied to a surface in painting. In the beginning, pigments came from nature: minerals, plants, animals. Alchemists were also able to chemically manipulate and combine different elements to create pigments not directly available from nature. Nowadays, we often use artificially manufactured pigments because they are both cheaper and safer. Many natural pigments are very toxic, and generally very expensive.

Some Common Pigments Used In The Renaissance

Red

Cinnabar

Vermilion is a vibrant red pigment made by grinding up cinnabar, a mercury sulphide that is very toxic. Mining cinnabar was very expensive and dangerous because of its toxicity. They eventually discovered how to make a synthetic version of vermilion with alchemy.

Carmine came from carminic acid, found in cochineal bugs. They would boil the dried insects in ammonia to extract the carminic acid responsible for the red colour. Carmine is still commonly used today as a dye in many products including some foods.

Blue

Ultramarine used in the Wilton Diptych

Ultramarine was the most expensive blue, so painters would use it sparingly and often reserved it for the clothing of central figures, especially the Virgin Mary. It was made by grinding up the mineral lapis lazuri.

Green

Verdigris, made from copper (ii) acetate was the most commonly used green at the time. It was the most vibrant option all the way until the 19th century.

Yellow

Lead-tin Yellow

Lead-tin Yellow was a commonly used yellow pigment during the Renaissance until it was completely replaced by Naples Yellow. It was often used alongside green and earth coloured pigments to create foliage.

Sources

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/artist-paints/renaissance-colour-palette.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdigris

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/overview/pbsnyellow.html

Yearbook Spread

The initial vision I had for my yearbook spread was very different from the product I ended up with. I had a hard time coming up with a composition I was happy with and felt portrayed an accurate picture of who I am. I also really wanted the whole spread to come together as one, as opposed to just being a bunch of elements thrown onto a page together. I jumped from idea to idea a few different times, starting over a couple of times, which is why it took me so much time to complete.

I chose to do my spread in watercolour because it’s a medium I really enjoy working with and am quite comfortable with. Working in watercolour also allowed my finished piece to resemble the general style of art I often like to do. I chose the colours mostly because they’re colours I like and think go decently well together. I put the elements I found most important in the top half of the spread: my name, portrait, words to describe myself, and my introductory statement. The other three, in my opinion, lesser important tidbits of information I placed along the sides. I changed the style of writing for my secret to making it smaller and placed it in the beam of the car’s headlights to imply the light revealing something that otherwise isn’t common knowledge or openly visible.

Grade

I would give myself an 8/10 on this assignment. I’m generally quite happy with the finished product, but there are a few things I could have done differently. Firstly, the car wasn’t supposed to be a central element of the spread. I think the size and way I placed it, as well as the lack of other visual elements, gives off the impression that I’m really into cars, which I’m not really. The car was only supposed to represent the 70s. By the end of the project, which is when I painted the background, I really just wanted to be done after having spent so many hours on it, so I didn’t spend as much time on it as I could have to make it look nicer. Lastly, I could have gone out of my comfort zone a little bit by actually giving myself a face.

Survey 1: Baskets Are Not Leak Proof, But Pots Are!

The First Pots Were Very Simple And Undecorated.

Pottery is one of the oldest inventions that is still made and used today in relatively the same way: molded from clay, fired at high temperatures and used as containers for food or water.

Around 10,000 years ago, people began settling down from the nomadic lifestyle and planting crops. Plants need water, so they had to find a way to water their crops since irrigation didn’t come along until much later on. Baskets were common for gathering, but wouldn’t work for transporting water. In order to make something that would work, they needed a material that was easily accessible, moldable, and relatively light in weight: clay. It was abundant and perfect for what they needed. As well as using the pots for transporting water, they also used them for storage of grains, dairy, and other products.

Later On, Greeks Began Decorating Pots. The Decorated Pots Were Often Reserved For Special Occasions.

Pottery is one of the easier things to study from the prehistoric era. The longevity of pots means that many pots are still around nowadays. The first pots were very simple. They were made by stacking rings of clay on top of each other, smoothing out the clay, and firing them in a hole underneath a fire—the very first kiln!

The Pottery Wheel

A Diagram Of The Slow Wheel

In the beginning, making pots was slow. They had to coil and shape the pots completely by hand, and making a single pot would take quite a while. To increase speed and efficiency, they eventually developed the first pottery wheel around 3,000 BC. The “Slow Wheel,” as can be assumed, was quite slow—although an improvement from the previous method used. A few hundred years later, the “Fast Wheel” was developed. They used heavier stones that could be kicked to make them turn. The use of heavier weight allowed for centrifugal force to be established, allowing the wheels to spin much faster. A major improvement in speed and efficiency!

Sources

https://home.howstuffworks.com/green-living/pottery1.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery

https://www.britannica.com/art/pottery/Western-pottery

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-invention-of-pottery-171345

https://www.ancient.eu/pottery/

https://ourpastimes.com/the-history-of-pottery-wheels-12181261.html

https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-neolithic-period/the-skarpsalling-pot/what-was-the-pottery-used-for/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter%27s_wheel

Late Gothic & Early Renaissance: Giovanni Bellini

Self Portrait (1500)

Born in Venice in 1430, Giovanni Bellini was an important Italian renaissance painter. Among his family of Venetian painters, he was the most well known. Son of Jacopo Bellini, brother of Gentile Bellini and brother in law to Andrea Mantegna, he was very much surrounded by painters.

The Agony In The Garden (1459)

Throughout the first two decades of his career, his work is heavily religious and traditional in focus, painting many madonnas, pietàs, and crucifixions. He later switched his focus over to the setting and scenery of his pieces, eventually becoming one of the most impressive landscape painters.

St Francis In Ecstacy (1480)

Bellini was very influential in the instruction of painters of the high renaissance in Venice, taking on many pupils throughout his time as a part of the Venetian School. Notably, he taught Giorgione and Titian, who both surpassed him in fame.

Saint Jerome Reading (1505)

He was also known for his use of oil paints to convey light and colour incredibly well. His use of colour and lighting in his pieces makes it very easy to identify the season and time of day being portrayed.

Madonna Of The Small Trees (1487)

Bellini was a very inventive and original painter. In his later years, he brought quite a humanistic quality to his paintings, especially showing a lot of human tenderness and softness in the people he painted. He was an important part of the transition into high renaissance painting.

I personally really like his work. His landscapes are pretty incredible.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Bellini-Italian-painter

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bellini-giovanni/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Bellini

https://www.wikiart.org/en/giovanni-bellini