Humanities Chapter 6

5/26/2018 Humanities Chapter 6

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Civic and Religious Life in an

Age of Inquiry

Chapter Six

The Gothic and the Rebirth of Naturalism


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The Gothic Style

Gothic was originally a derogatory term adopted in sixteenth-century Italy to describe the art of northern Europe, where, it was

believed, classical tradition had been destroyed by Germanic

invaders, the Goths

In its own time it was known as opusmodernum (modern work) or

opusfrancigenum(French work)

Gothic represented a new standard of beauty in Western

architecture and decorationintricate stonework soaring everhigher to create lofty interior space, classical models of

naturalistic expression, and polyphonic music that was

accompanied by a new instrumentthe organ


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Abbott Suger and the

Abbey of Saint-Denis

Suger began work on the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis in 1137,

painting the 300-year-old walls with gold and precious colors

Next he added twin towers and a triple portal and surrounded the

back of the ambulatory with a circular string of chapels, all lit with

stained-glass windows

This light, by virtue of which, Suger wrote, the whole worldwould shine with the miraculous and uninterrupted light,

proclaimed the new Gothic style


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Ambulatory ChoirAbbey Church of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France

1140-44


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Moses WindowAbbey Church of Saint-Denis

The best-preserved

of the original

stained-glass

windows at Saint-

Denis

Moses was a prominent

theme at the royal

Abbey because his

leadership of theIsraelites was the

model for the French

kings leadership of his

people


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Chartres Cathedral

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Chartres, located in the heart of

Frances grain belt, was the spiritual center of the cult of the Virgin

(Notre Dame means Our Lady)

Soon after the first building phase was completed, between 1140 and1150, pilgrims thronged to the cathedral to pay homage to what the

Church claimed was the Virgins tunic, worn at Jesuss birth, believed

to possess extraordinary healing powers

In fact, when a fire in 1194 destroyed the cathedrals original structure,a few stained-glass windows, including one of the most beautiful,

known as Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrire (Our Lady of the Beautiful

Window) and the tunic of the Virgin survived


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West Faade, Chartres Cathedralca. 1134-1220

The different designs of the two towers reflect the Gothic dismissal of Romanesque

absolute balance and symmetry as well as the growing refinement of the Gothic style.


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Stained Glass

The innovative engineering that marks Gothic architecture freed the

walls of the need to bear the weight of the structure; it also freed the

walls to contain glass

The purpose of the stained-glass programs in all Gothic cathedrals was

to tell the stories of the Bible in a compelling way to an audience that

was largely illiterate

The windows were donated by the royal family, the noblemen, and bymerchant guilds


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Notre-Dame de la Belle VerrireChartres Cathedral

Central portion, 12thcentury; surrounding angels, 13thcentury


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Rose Window and LancetsNorth Transept, Chartres, ca. 1150-80

A rose window is a round

window with mullions

(framing elements) and

traceries extending outward

from its center in the

manner of a roses petals

It is symbolic of the Virgin

Mary in her role as the

Mystic Rosethe root plant,

it was believed, of the Jesse

Tree


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The Tree of Jesse WindowChartres, ca. 1150-70

Jesse trees are a commonmotif in 12th- and 13th-century manuscripts,murals, sculpture, andstained glass

Thought to represent thegenealogy of Christ, sincethey depict the VirginMary as descended fromJesse, the father of KingDavid

Jesse trees were importantin the cult of the Virgin inestablishing Marys royallineage


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Gothic Architecture

Key among the innovations that contributed to the goal of elevating

the souls of the worshippers to the spiritual realm was rib vaulting

Rib vaulting allowed for the massive stonework of Romanesque styleto be replaced by an almost lacy play of thin columns and patterns of

ribs and windows, all pointing upward in a gravity-defying crescendo

that carries the viewers gaze toward the heavens

Chartress nave is 120' high, Reimss nave is 125', and Beauvaiss, the

highest, is 157', the equivalent of a 15-story building


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Rib Vaulting

Rib vaults are a form of groin

vault

They are based on the pointed

arch, which can reach to agreater height than a rounded

arch

The principles of rib vaulting

were known to Romanesque

architects, but Gothic architects

used these techniques with

increasing sophistication


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Flying Buttresses

Flying buttresses extend away from the wall, employing an arch to

focus the strength of the buttresss support at the top of the wall,

the section most prone to collapse from the outward pressure of

the vaulted ceiling

They allow for even lighter buttressing and more windows

They also create a stunning visual spectacle, arching winglike from

the buildings side as if defying gravity


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Cathedral of Notre-Dame, ParisFlying Buttresses, 1211-90


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Gothic Sculpture

In a little over a hundred years, Gothic sculptors had begun to

reintroduce classical principles of sculptural composition into

Western art

The jamb sculptures on the portals at Chartres and Reims mark a

distinct advance in the sculptural realization of the human body

By 1245 to 1255, the sculptures are the most fully human, the most

natural since Roman times


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Jamb StatuesWest Portal, Chartres Cathedral, 1145-70

Figures from the Hebrew Bible

considered to be precursors of

Christ

Fully rounded and occupy a

space in front of the column

itself

Decorative patterns at thebottom are reminiscent of

Islamic design in Spain


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The Radiant Style

By the middle of the 13thcentury, the Gothic style in France had

been elaborated into increasingly flamboyant patterns of repeated

traceries and ornament that have come to be called the Rayonnant

or radiant style

This style was closely associated with the court of Louis IX (r. 1226-

70), considered throughout Europe to be the model of perfect rule

Because of his insistence on treating people fairly, his abolishment

of serfdom and private wars, and his reform of tax structure, he wassomething of a saint. In fact, the Church later beatified him as Saint

Louis


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Sainte-Chapelle, ParisInterior, Upper Chapel, 1238-48

Louiss most importantcontribution to the Churchand to the history of Gothicarchitecture

Ratio of glass to stone ishigher than in any otherGothic structure, bathing itsviewer in light

Walls decorated in red, blue,and gilt, with golden starsshining down from the deepblue of the delicately vaultedceiling


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Civic and Religious Life in

Siena and Florence

By the thirteenth century, Italian life and politics were dominated by

two prominent city states: Siena, in the mountainous southern region

of Tuscany, and Florence, in the regions richest agricultural district

Since Charlemagnes time, the two cities had been fierce rivals. Siena

was a Ghibelline city, which sided with the emperor, and Florence was

a Guelph stronghold that supported the pope

Siena and Florence, both republics, were fierce rivals


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Central Italy in about 1494,

Showing the Republics of Florence and

Siena and the Papal States


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Siena

In 1125 Siena established itself as a free commune (a collective of

people gathered together for the common good), giving it an

immense advantage over its feudal neighbors

Its government, as was Florences, was controlled by arti, or guilds

Leading the way in Siena were the merchants, who dealt in wax,

pepper, and spices, as well as Flemish cloth, shoes, stockings, and

belts


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Ambrogio Lorenzetti,

Allegory of Good Government: The Effects of

Good Government in the City and CountryFresco, Sala della Pace, Palazzo Publico, 1338-39


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Florence

By the twelfth century, Florence was the center of textile

production in the Western world

The citys bankers and moneylenders made Florence a vital player

in world trade. Florence was Europes bank, and its bankers were

Europes true nobility

Florentine bankers invented checks, credit, life insurance, and in

1252 introduced Europes first single currency, the goldflorin


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Tuscan Religious Life

Even though the guilds, associations of people with likeminded,

often occupation-based interests, exercised power in the cities,

nothing influenced the people more than the Church

Civic leaders engaged in building projects for the new urbanreligious orders: the Dominicans, founded by the Spanish monk

Dominic de Guzman (ca. 1170-1221), and the Franciscans,

founded by St. Francis of Assisi (ca. 1181-1226)

The Dominicans and Franciscans were both mendicant orders:

they neither held property nor engaged in business, relying on

community contributions to support them


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Franciscan and Dominican ChurchesFlorence

Santa Croce is a Franciscan church built on

the eastern side of the city

Santa Maria Novella was commissioned by the

Dominicans and was built on the western side

of the city, underscoring the rivalry between

the two orders


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Growing Naturalism in Painting

Because they put themselves under the protection of the Virgin,

Siena and Florence began competing to prove who could paint her

more naturally

One of the first artists to break from the Byzantine tradition wasSienas Duccio di Buoninsegna

His Mary has a real body under her robes, and his Christ Child

seems to be an actual baby, and a slightly chubby one at that.

Marys knee especially asserts itself, the drapery, falling in long,gentle curves, much more natural looking than the rigid, angular

drapery of earlier Byzantine works


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Duccio di Buoninsegna, MaestTempera and gold on wood, 7'13' 6", 1308-11


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Simone Martinis Maest

Martini had worked on the cathedral Maestas Duccios

apprentice from 1308 to 1311

Martinis Maest, situated in a public building overlooking the

works of civic administration, is even more naturalistic

The Virgins crown signifies her status as Queen of Heaven. Jesus

holds a parchment that reads, Love Justice, you who judge the

earth

Her porcelain-white skin, tinged with pink, gives her complexion arealistic tone. She embodies a standard of beauty absent in

Western art since Classical timesthe physical beauty of the flesh

as opposed to the divine beauty of the spirit


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Simone Martini, MaestFresco, 25'31' 9", ca. 1311-17


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Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned

with Angels and ProphetsTempera and gold on wood, 117 x 74, ca. 1285

Even before Duccio becameactive in Siena, Cimabue, theleading painter in Florence,had produced a large-scalevirgin for the altarpiece of the

Church of Santa Trinit

Although the Byzantine rootsare clear, most important areCimabues concerns for spatialvolume and treatment ofhuman figures with

naturalistic expressions

The Virgins right foot ispropped upon the throne inan almost casual position


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Giotto, Madonna Enthroned with

Angels and ProphetsTempera and gold on wood, 10' 8"6' 8", ca. 1310

According to legend, Cimabue

discovered Giotto, a talented

shepherd boy, and tutored him in

painting. The pupil soon

surpassed the teacher

Giottos Madonna Enthroned with

Angels and Saints is a remarkable

shift toward naturalism

Colors gradually and continuously

blend from light to dark around

the contours of his figures and

their draperies, recreating the

realistic appearance of shadows


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Arena Chapel

Arena Chapel was the family chapel of the Scrovegnis,

moneylenders who were known for their flagrant usury. The

chapel seems to have been penance for the familys sins

Giotto painted virtually every space in the barrel-vaulted chapelwith buon fresco, the technique of painting on wet plaster

He painted with scenes from the life of the Virgin and the life of

Christ. These are dramatic paintingspossessing a psychological

intensity and emotional immediacy that involve the viewerdirectly in the scene


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Arena Chapel, Padua. The Life of Christ

and the Virgin FrescoesGiotto, 1305-06

The top of the vault is a

starry blue sky, painted

with lapis lazuli

On the back wall above the

door is a Last Judgment,

showing Enrico Scrovegni,

the patron, offering amodel of the chapel to the

Virgin


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Giotto, The LamentationFresco, 78"73"

One of the most moving scenes,focusing on the real pain felt by

Christs followers upon his death,

rather than the promise of

salvation that is symbolized

Jesus in the left-hand corner

shows Giottos deliberate

abandonment of the balance and

symmetry of Byzantine art

Giotto was the first artist sinceantiquity to depict figures from

behind, contributing to the sense

of realism


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Giotto,Adoration of the MagiFresco, 78"73"

Giotto comes close in

rendering the wooden shed in

perspective

Giotto apparently modeledthe star after Halleys Comet,

which made one of its regular

appearances in 1301

Giotto had probably neverseen a camel; these have blue

eyes and cows feet


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Dantes Divine Comedy

The poem, begun in about 1308, records the travels of the

Christian soul from Hell to Purgatory and finally to salvation in

three booksthe Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso

Dante, the leading character in his own poem, is led by theRoman poet Virgil through Hell

Many of the characters who inhabit his Hell are Florentine

political figures. Dante himself was a Guelph, but when the

Ghibellines seized control of the city, in 1302 Dante wasbanned from Florence


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Plan of Dantes Inferno

Infernocomposed of ninedescending rings of sinners

undergoing punishment, each

more gruesome than the one

before it

Among the lowest are theGuelphs and Ghibellines from all

over Tuscany who betrayed their

cities well-being

At the very bottom is Satan

chewing on the worst of alltraitorsJudas (thought to have

betrayed Jesus) and Brutus and

Cassius (assassins of Julius

Caesar)


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Domenico de Michelino,

Dante and His PoemFresco, Florence Cathedral, 10' 6" 9' 7", 1465


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Petrarch (1304-74)

One of Boccaccios best friendswas the itinerant scholar and

poet Francesco Petrarca, known

as Petrarch

Petrarch rediscovered theforgotten works of the Roman

orator and statesman Cicero

Petrarchs greatest work was a

book of over 300 poems, theCanzoniere (Songbook),

inspired by his love for Laura


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Christine de Pizan (1364-ca. 1430)

Educated at the French court

When her husband died, she

needed to support three children,

a niece, and her mother, so she

became the first femaleprofessional writer in European

history

In her Book of the City of Ladies,

she attacked male misogyny by

recounting the accomplishmentsof women throughout the ages in

an allegorical debate between

herself, Lady Reason, Lady

Rectitude, and Lady Justice

"Rest assured, dear friend, chaste ladies

who live honestly take absolutely no

pleasure in being raped. Indeed, rape is

the greatest possible sorrow for them."

"The man or the woman in whom resides

greater virtue is the higher; neither the

loftiness nor the lowliness of a person lies

in the body according to the sex but in the

perfection of conduct and virtues."

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