Hello! This next video will conclude art 101 and discuss
the Late Gothic style in France, and then move onto
regional Gothic styles in both Germany and Italy,
and think about the late medieval period in Italy as we transition towards the
Renaissance, and think about things like
the plague, and how it affected art production, and things like that.
So starting off with the Late Gothic style in France. We're in the Rayonnant or "Radiant"
court style or Radiant Gothic period, which runs roughly from 1240 to 1350 CE.
And this is a period where we tend to see a flourishing
of the Gothic style in the courts -- meaning the royal court
with a lot of very elegant works of art. So starting off,
let's look at a manuscript page commissioned by Blanche of Castile
for her son Louis IX, who became king very, very young. We see him here looking
quite youthful. We see Blanche here, looking very
wise -- lecturing him, gesturing towards him,
and you see some very typical Gothic
trefoil arches just above, very graceful columns,
and then down below you see men of the church -- monks --
in what looks like a scriptorium, so men working away
with one man seemingly lecturing on one side, and one man seemingly
receiving the instructions on the other side. So clearly you have this
set up between the Queen Regent up above,
whose instructing the new king, Louis IX,
and then also you have this instruction going on down below,
referring to the fact this is a manuscript that would've been produced
in one of the finest scriptoria
of the time. It's coated in gold leaf. It's done on vellum. It has tempera
paint done very nicely, with very expensive looking pigments like the
the rich
blues that we see here. Clearly these are individuals of high
status with their crowns. Louis is holding on to his sceptre.
And they're wearing very fine royal robes and garments, so clearly a high-status
object. And this is basically the cover page or the title page
of a moralized Bible that would have been given from his mother Blanche of
Castile to
Louis IX -- presumably soon after he came to the throne.
Louis' probably most famous contribution -- architectural contribution -- is Sainte
Chapelle, which is in Paris. It was a very expensive project really
functioning as a grand reliquary containing
some of the most important relics that were purchased by Louis,
and brought to Paris -- making Paris like a new Holy Land --
and bringing things like the Crown of Thorns into Paris.
And he had spent an amazing amount of money collecting some of these relics
from rulers in different areas -- primarily from the East in areas of Byzantium.
And so he was able to collect relics like the Crown of Thorns, a bit of the True
Cross,
things like the the nails of Christ [used during the Crucifixion].
So these were very important relics that were now being brought into Paris
and contained within
this Palatine chapel -- this chapel that would have been
connected to the Royal Palace or connected to the Royal
area where Louis would have lived. Louis became a saint soon after he died, so
he was known to be a particularly pious and holy ruler,
and died while he was on a crusade, so he was known to have
fought for Christianity, which added to his
legend and added to the fact that he became such an important ruler later on.
But just looking at the structure itself you could see that the walls really
been melted away, and and all we really have are these bundles of columns
-- small bundles of columns -- and then huge areas of stained glass, so allowing
the entire walls or most of the walls to really be covered by this stained
glass, that's covering the walls here. So really tall lancet windows
and then lots of decoration and Gothic tracery.
So just noting some of the things that Louis IX did acquire: the Crown of
Thorns, part of the True Cross, the iron lance,
the sponge, and a nail -- objects of Christ's passion -- all part of his
Crucifixion -- from the Latin emperor
of Constantinople, who was looking to get more funds, and so Louis
was able to pay him quite a bit for these objects.
And so looking in at the interior on
a detail of some of these stained glass windows, you can see those tall lancet windows --
those
tall pointed windows -- and then you've got trefoil decoration
here, quatrefoil decoration. So those three lobed versus four lobed
structures or areas
within the stained glass. And -- moving on--
moving into the Lake Gothic flamboyant period, where we tend to see even more ornate
decoration. You tend to see often a flame-
like decoration in the Gothic windows, but what I want to focus on is a manuscript
by Jean Pucelle,
who was a very famous manuscript
illuminator. You can see this is done primarily in "grisaille",
which is noted here, so grisaille is gray technique. You use of a lot gray
techniques to give this illusion of sculpture -- almost making it look like stone.
So what you see in this manuscript, which is very, very small,
a small portable manuscript that was owned by a French Queen Jeanne d'Evereux,
whose name is listed down her. It's from the early 14th century.
And what you see in this manuscript are these pairings on some of the pages
between Christ's Passion -- so the period before his Crucifixion --
and then Christ's early or the life of the Virgin.
And so what you have here is the betrayal of Christ, where Judas is identifying him
through a kiss. Christ is easily identifiable with his halo.
And then on the opposing side, you have this moment of the Annunciation, where the angel
Gabriel is coming to the Virgin to announce to her that she's pregnant.
And their bodies have this really dramatic
what we call the "Gothic S-curve". This sweeping of their bodies -- this
sloping of their bodies, where the bodies don't have that solid contraposto
stance, which we saw in the classical period.
It's more of this graceful sway to the body, with a gentle sway of the drapery as
well.
So we see that in both cases and what's nice is their bodies kind of
lean in towards one another so the pages really respond
to each other. So you see a figure prayer here -- maybe
this is supposed to be the queen. You also see courtly activities and games --
things like jousting and tag, but the quality of the illumination really is
exceptional,
especially because this is such a tiny book. It's just a couple inches --
3.5 by 2.5 inches.
So really small. So a prayer book -- a book about hours, which would have given the
queen different prayers
to pray throughout the day, so that was the whole idea of a book of hours --
giving you prayers throughout the day, but also something that would have been
pleasurable for someone who was interested in a courtly art.
Alright, moving on to the Gothic style in Germany. We tend to see a bit more
gruesome figures, and figures that really are supposed to
increase devotion and increase contemplation among the viewers. So this is
the Röttgen Pietà. The Pietà was a common
theme in Northern Europe -- northwestern Europe -- where you have the Virgin
holding on to the body of her dead son following the crucifixion.
This is not a story that's recounted in the Gospels, but it's something
that becomes very popular in this area of northern Europe.
And so what we see here is a particularly gruesome version where
Christ;s wounds are really emphasized. We see the five wounds: one,
two, three, four, five. There's a wound in his side here.
We also see to the suffering of Christ through
the fact that he looks emaciated. He looks so, so
thin. You can see his ribs along the side of his body -- you can see the ribs
there. And also you see the devastation of the Virgin -- her expression and
her
emotion. And these are often referred to as "Andachtsbilder" --
that's the plural. So "Andachtsbild" would be a singular,
and these are just these are just these devotional images that are often filled with
emotion.
Often they have scenes that emphasize the suffering of Christ
to increase the devotion and the prayers and the
sadness of the followers when they think about this idea of
Christ's offering and his sacrifice.
And another type of image that was popular were these crucified Christs that also
emphasize Christ as very thin, looking emaciated,
emphasizing his suffering on the cross, and often these were called "Pestkreuze"
or
works that were commissioned during times of plague
or during times of disease, and so, hopefully, in both examples you can see
this clear emphasis on suffering,
and the idea of sacrifice, so
both these types of images were very popular in Northern Europe
around this time. And what we'll see is that images like that the Pietà
will become refined
and more visually pleasing as we move towards the Renaissance
in ART 102. So we do have the arrival of the "Black Death" in 1348.
You have a famine in the early 14th century, which probably affected people,
lowering
people's immune systems. Plagues are going to spread more easily if people aren't well nourished.
It first arrives in Sicily and then begins to spread around Europe.
The exact number of people who died -- really it's difficult to
exactly put a finger on it or to identify because
the censuses weren't as clear as they are now,
but somewhere between 30% and 60%
in different areas.
There was a bacteria probably transmitted by fleas,
and it was extremely contagious, and it affected people very quickly, which was
why it was so shocking.
So let's just keep this in mind as we continue to look at art from the 14th
century.
So we're moving into Italy and looking at examples of the Gothic style there.
So by the fourteenth century -- so when this church was started in 1386 -- this cathedral of
Milan, which was going to be a very, very large church. One of the largest in all of
Christendom.
When it was first begun, the Gothic style was fashionable.
They brought in architects from France to help guide it
Even though they were taking on more than northern style in this northern
Italian city,
at the time it still would have been pretty fashionable, but this took over
600 years to complete,
and so by the time of course it was completed or by
the period of the Renaissance -- really this style was very out of fashion.
But they continue to use things like the pinnacles.
They use some of the buttressing on the outside. It's a little bit less of a
vertical emphasis than what we tend to see in France,
and also you start to see some of those Renaissance classical elements starting
to be introduced in the pediments over portals
and over windows. So up here you see more of a traditional Gothic window,
and then more of a Renaissance style portal and window down below.
So really this is a hybrid structure that's
indicating primarily Gothic style, but also demonstrating that there is this
transition to a Renaissance
style later on. Just showing you some of those portals and some of
those comparisons between windows. We also see the Gothic style
in Venice. Venice of course was a major trading center,
and so in the Doge's Palace -- the "Doge" was the figurehead of Venice --
we see Gothic tracery along that upper balcony.
We see more classical elements in certain elements of the columns.
We see pointed arches, which are more Gothic. And then up above, you see this
really refined
tilework, and really interesting crenelations up here,
which seem to come more from Islamic territories or Islamic lands.
So this palace, which would have been the area where all travelers or most
travelers would have arrived --
especially those who were having a special diplomatic visit,
they would have entered in this main "Piazza of San Marco",
and they would have seen this structure, and the structure would have exemplified
a number of different influences that exemplified that
Venice really was a trading center and an international city.
Another international Gothic work, or demonstration of this Gothic style
in Italy is this scene of the "Annunciation",
where we see the angel Gabriel announcing to the Virgin that she will be pregnant. You see
the Holy Spirit indicated here.
Very Gothic style frame -- this is actually a later frame, however, that was added in
the Gothic style.
But the bodies themselves are very traditionally Gothic, you you have that
elegant curve of the body. The bodies are very thin, so this style would have greatly been
appreciated during the Gothic period --
some of that "flamboyant" Gothic style that we saw, for example, in those
hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, we see some similarities here.
So at this point the Gothic style is known as stylish and important,
and it's spreading throughout Europe. And this would have been commissioned as a
very expensive altarpiece in one altar --
one chapel in the Siena Cathedral.
We also, however, see the Byzantine style in
Italy. So an artist named Cimabue was seen as bringing a new
Renaissance naturalism. So we see some dimension to the throne. We see some
modeling to the forms here. We also see Byzantine elements
of having more of an icon style here. So the Virgin functioning as a
throne. She still has some flattened elements to her.
You see a lot of gold used here in a very Byzantine style.
So Italy really is a melting area
or melting pot of different styles at this point. So you've
got that International Gothic Style. You still have some Byzantine elements coming in.
And then you see a renewed interest in some classical antiquity and some
naturalism.
So artists like Cimabue are seen as transitional artists
moving into that Renaissance style. And our final work is to look at the Palazzo
Pubblico -- the main
city hall in Siena, which is a city in Tuscany --
and, if we go inside, we get a sense of the fact that more people are
starting to participate in government
and so we think about participatory governments, more democratic forms of
government, where lots of people are coming together.
Although it was mostly men and it was a restricted group of citizens,
you are seeing more of a "rule by many" rather than a rule by one,
at this point in Italy. So for example if you go into the "Sala dei Nove"
which was of the nine individuals who really made most of the decisions in
Siena,
You see these frescoes of good and bad government, and what you see
are a number allegorical figures on one wall that indicate good government,
and you also see the results of good government, so if we look at "the Effects
of Good Government",
you see a city thriving, construction, trade, people getting married
signs of harmony. If we go to the countryside,
you see that crops are thriving. You see that people have enough to eat,
and there's an allegorical figure of security up here,
and then on the opposing side, you see the results of bad government. So you
see a very fragmented wall with figures fighting, and you see the city falling
apart,
so it's very easy to spot that you have the results of
good government on one side, bad government on another side.
So those illustrations are very clearly
supposed to guide those who are ruling at this point. So this is a nice
transition, as we move towards ART 102,
which will cover more of the Renaissance period and these
participatory
forms of government. THE END :)